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.”
- “You’re a quiet pig,” President Donald Trump told reporters during a Nov. 14 press conference.
- This is not the first time President Trump has used the word “pig” to refer to a woman.
- He previously called 1996 Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado “Miss Piggy” after she gained weight.
President Donald Trump’s Nov. 14 comment to a reporter that he called a “quiet pig” has resonated throughout this week, but it’s not the first time the president has called a woman a “pig.”
President Trump held a press conference to answer questions from reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Palm Beach, Florida. As one reporter asked a follow-up question about the Jeffrey Epstein file, President Trump pointed his finger at her, bent over and said:
“Quiet! Quiet, pig,” he said.
Asked about the meaning of President Trump’s comments on Nov. 20, press secretary Caroline Levitt did not respond directly.
“Look, the president has been very open and honest with everyone in this room. You’ve seen it for yourself, you’ve experienced it for yourself,” Levitt said.
The moment garnered a lot of attention (including a slew of derisive parody posts by California Governor Gavin Newsom). But this isn’t the first time President Trump has called a woman a “pig.”
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.
President Trump calls former Miss Universe ‘Miss Piggy’ after buying pageant
Alicia Machado of Venezuela, the 1996 Miss Universe winner, said President Trump called her “Miss Piggy” when she gained weight after winning.
She is the first winner since Trump bought the pageant in 1996 (he sold it to talent agency WME-IMG in 2015 for an undisclosed amount).
According to archives of the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY network, in February 1997, President Trump took Machado to the private club Mar-a-Lago in Florida to sponsor a “wellness” program for Machado to lose weight. At a press conference on the matter, President Trump said being overweight is not healthy and said his office was under “siege” of calls about Machado.
In a 2016 interview on NBC’s “Today” show after Trump’s treatment of Machado became part of political news, Trump said that Trump frequently called Machado “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” to her face.
“In that moment, it was really normal for him,” she said. “That experience at the age of 18 scarred me deep inside.”
Hillary Clinton brings up ‘Miss Piggy’ comment at first debate of 2016
Trump’s decades-old comments about Machado resurfaced during the first presidential debate in September 2016, when Trump faced off against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, with a woman behind the podium.
“One of the worst things he said was about a woman in a beauty pageant,” Clinton said. “He loves beauty pageants, cheering them on and hanging out with them. And he called this woman Miss Piggy. And because she was Latina, he called her Miss Housekeeping. Donald, she has a name.”
“Her name is Alicia Machado, and she is now a U.S. citizen,” Clinton said. “And I have no doubt that she will vote this November.”
The comment appeared to surprise Trump. He just asked, “Where did you find this?” But the next day he spoke to it.
“She was a winner, but as you know, she gained a lot of weight and it was a serious problem,” Trump said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “We had a big problem, and not only that, but also her attitude.”
A few days later, Clinton went on a Twitter rampage (now known as X), saying that she shouldn’t have brought up Machado during the debate. Clinton criticized the outburst, calling it “destabilizing.”
Machado told reporters after the debate that she thought Trump was biased against girls, which was also a key part of Clinton’s campaign message.
“I believe in her experience,” Machado said at a press conference the day after the debate. “For me, this election is like a nightmare. I never imagined that 20 years from now I would be in this position, watching this man say and do such foolish things.”
Contributor: George Bennett, Palm Beach Post. Rebecca Morin, Roger Yu, Maeve McDermott, Eliza Collins, 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.
