While hardly surprising coming from a man who has a documented history of making personal attacks on female journalists, one recent outburst from Donald Trump has been trending online...
Prior to the US President Donald Trump reversing his position and announcing that he would endorse the House vote on the release of the Epstein files, one journalist clearly hit a nerve by asking about the files, leading to a sexist insult made by Trump to go viral.
When addressing reporters on board Air Force One last Friday, Trump was asked about recently released emails from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, specificially the ones which mentioned the president.
Epstein called Trump “dangerous”, wrote that he had “met some very bad people...none as bad as Trump”, and claimed that the US President “knew about the girls”.
Trump claimed ignorance on the matter and said the focus should be on others named in the emails, including former US President Bill Clinton.
When Catherine Lucey, Bloomberg’s White House correspondent, tried to ask a follow-up question on Epstein, Trump turned to her and said: "Quiet. Quiet, piggy."
Charming.
While his remark on Air Force One did not initially gain much traction, attention has picked up online, leading critics from both sides of the aisle to accuse Trump of trying to “shut women journalists up” with “demeaning language.”
CNN anchor Jake Tapper described the incident as “disgusting and completely unacceptable” on X, while former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson called the remark “disgusting and degrading”.
When asked for comment about Trump’s insult, a White House official stated: “This reporter behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues on the plane.”
No evidence for this allegation was provided.
“If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take,” the statement shared with The Guardian continued.
When asked for specifics regarding what Lucey had done that was “inappropriate”, the White House did not respond.
The disparaging phrase “Quiet, piggy” has now begun trending online, with many posting images of Trump as a pig.
Governor of California Gavin Newsom, who has been using is social media platforms to beat Trump at his own game, led the charge by mimicking Trump’s memetic warfare.
Many online followed suit, highlighting the vile nature of Trump's outburst and how it is beneath the office of the President of the United States.
Others pointed out that as awful as the comments were, the fact that none of Catherine Lucey’s colleagues objected or defended her was worse.
It’s worth noting that this sexist insult seems to be a favourite for Trump, as he called comedian and TV host Rosie O’Donnell - with whom he has had an ongoing feud for many years - a “big, fat pig” in 2006, and previously referred to 1996’s Miss Universe Alicia Machado as “Miss Piggy”, before telling her to lose weight.
Taking a further step back, misogynist comments and gendered attacks are a pattern for Trump, who rarely passes up an opportunity demean female journalists in the aim of shutting them up.
During his first presidential campaign, then Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly asked Trump about him referring to women as “fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals”. Trump smirked and interjected that he only used those kinds of words about O'Donnell. Later, when talking about the debate, Trump said of Kelly: “There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”
In 2018, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) called on Trump’s Whte House to be more respectful toward female journalists. The organisation referred to “recent demeaning language from the president against female journalists of colour”.
An example of this came in 2020, during a press briefing about COVID-19. Trump insulted journalist Yamiche Alcindor and told her to “be nice, don’t be threatening”.
And only yesterday, during a White House visit with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump denounced ABC News' Mary Bruce as a “terrible reporter” and threatened the network's license to broadcast after she asked him questions at the White House.
Bruce asked Trump whether it was appropriate for his family to be doing business in Saudi Arabia while he was president, and asked the Saudi leader: “Your Royal Highness, the US intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist” - referring to 2018, when Saudi officials lured Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Turkey and dismembering his body with a bone saw. “9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust you? And the same to you, Mr. President.”
Trump retorted by calling ABC “fake news” and dismissed the US intelligence findings that the prince likely had some culpability in Khashoggi’s murder. He said “a lot of people didn't like” Khashoggi. For his part, Prince Mohammed said Khashoggi’s death was painful and “a huge mistake.”
Trump went on to criticise Bruce for asking the prince a “horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question.”
When Bruce about why the White House was waiting for congressional action to release more details about Epstein’s correspondence, Trump doubled down by saying: “It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions.”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg News has now issued a comment on Trump referring to Catherine Lucey as “piggy”. Their statement reads: “Our White House journalists perform a vital public service, asking questions without fear or favour.”
It added: "We remain focused on reporting issues of public interest fairly and accurately.”
