White House defends Trump over ‘piggy’ call to reporter
The White House defended President Donald Trump after he called a female reporter who asked about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a “piggy” and said the president’s words reflected his candor and transparency.
In the conversation aboard Air Force One that went viral last week, Trump leaned toward the reporter, pointed his finger and said, “Be quiet, piggy,” as he pressed him about the recently released Epstein email in which the New York financier claimed Trump “knew the girls.”
Asked about the incident on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said American voters re-elected Trump because of his honesty and reporters should appreciate his openness in answering questions.
“He screams when he sees fake news and gets angry at reporters who spread misinformation,” Leavitt said at the White House briefing, offering no evidence that false information was reported.
“But he also provides unprecedented access to the press and answers questions almost every day.”
In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump called another female reporter a “terrible person” who asked about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and why he had not released the Epstein files.
Trump signed legislation Wednesday ordering the Justice Department to release documents from the long-running investigation into Epstein, after initially resisting making the files public.
The Society of Professional Journalists issued a statement this week condemning Trump’s derogatory language towards journalists, noting that Trump used derogatory language to discredit women.
The White House declined to comment beyond Leavitt’s previous statement about Trump’s “piggy” remarks.
“No one expects presidents to be journalists’ biggest fans,” said SPJ Executive Director Caroline Hendrie. “However, targeting female reporters with derogatory insults should not be tolerated.”
