White House defends Trump’s ‘pig’ comment as ‘honest’
The White House defended President Donald Trump as “straightforward and honest” after calling a reporter a “pig.”
- “It’s a quiet pig,” President Donald Trump recently told reporters during a press conference about Air Force One.
- This insult is part of President Trump’s entire history of open hostility toward reporters.
- In the 1980s, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch called President Trump a “pig, pig, pig” during a development fight.
President Donald Trump’s “quiet pig” comments about reporters have stung Americans in recent weeks, but he’s been on the receiving end of such insults before.
On Nov. 14, as a reporter on Air Force One asked President Trump additional questions about the Jeffrey Epstein file, Trump cut her off by pointing a finger at her and saying, “Quiet! Quiet, pig.”
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt dismissed questions about what the comment meant at a press conference on Nov. 20, saying, “The president has been very candid and honest.”
But President Trump’s comments fit into a longstanding habit of showing open hostility toward reporters: When Miss Universe 1996 gained weight after winning the pageant, Trump called her “Miss Piggy.”
But since when did he become a “pig”? Here’s what you need to know:
Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch called President Trump a “pig, pig, pig.”
Ed Koch was New York City’s mayor in the 1980s, when Trump was a rising star in New York real estate. His brash and quirky advertising style has led some to compare it to Mr. Trump himself. Koch led the city from 1978 to 1989 and died in 2013 at the age of 88.
In the spring of 1987, Mr. Koch engaged in a vocal development battle with Mr. Trump, who wanted tax concessions for the Upper West Side project, but Mr. Koch did not respond, according to an archived article published in New York magazine.
Trump called the mayor a “stupid” and said “the city under Ed Koch is a disaster,” Koch said, “If Donald Trump is squealing like a stuck pig, I must have done something right,” and called the mayor “greedy, greedy, greedy,” according to New York Times archives.
Koch also called Trump a “pig, pig, pig,” according to New York Magazine.
President Trump’s ‘quiet pig’ comment fuels fundraising efforts from the Association of Professional Journalists
The “quiet pig” comment is not the first time Trump has violently attacked reporters. In another heated exchange in the Oval Office on Nov. 18, just days after the “quiet you pig” comment, ABC News’ Mary Bruce asked why President Trump didn’t order the release of the Epstein files without waiting for Congress to pass legislation.
“It’s not the question that bothers me, it’s your attitude. I think you’re a terrible reporter,” Trump said. “These are the questions I ask.”
Trump did not answer Bruce’s questions and continued to lash out at the reporter.
“This is a Democratic hoax,” Trump said, later adding, “The news coming out of ABC is so fake and so false that I think ABC should have its license taken away. And we have a great commissioner, we have a great commissioner, and we should look at that.”
“The president was obviously not happy with my question,” Bruce said in an exchange with ABC News.
Trump’s sharp comments about reporters, especially women, date back to the early days of his first presidential campaign. He talked about Megyn Kelly, who he asked during a Republican primary debate if she had presidential temperament, and later said, “Her eyes were bleeding, blood was coming out everywhere.”
In March 2020, President Trump told White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, “Please be kind. There’s no need to make threats.” Earlier this year, he told a reporter who asked about TACO’s trade terms regarding tariffs that it was a “nasty question.” In September, he got into an argument with a reporter who was trying to ask him a question, and when she insisted, “I’m not offensive,” he called her “offensive.”
The Society of Professional Journalists used this pig insult as a fundraiser. Through November 30th, membership in this organization is $15 off with code “piggy.”
“When reporters ask tough questions, they deserve respect, not insults,” the group wrote. “So we are taking back this word that was meant to demean journalists and using it to build power, community, and collective strength.”
Who did Trump call a pig?
CBS News White House correspondent Jennifer Jacobs was among those traveling on Air Force One, according to a social media post. The gagged video shows President Trump turning to other reporters and saying, “Quiet, little piggy,” just before asking “Jennifer” a question.
According to Jacobs’ social media posts, he was the other reporter who spoke when Trump said he had a “quiet, pig-like” job at Bloomberg.
A Bloomberg News spokesperson did not name the reporter, but told USA TODAY in a statement that the station is committed to fair and accurate reporting.
Other news outlets have identified her as Katherine Lucey.
Contributors: Joey Garrison, Rebecca Moerin, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), blue sky and TikTok.
