The White House on Thursday defended US President Donald Trump after he called a female Bloomberg reporter “piggy” while being questioned about emails from Jeffrey Epstein aboard Air Force One, describing the remark as a reflection of his frankness, according to a White House briefing.During the briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s openness and directness with the press were reasons voters re-elected him and that reporters should appreciate his frankness. “Look, the president is very frank and honest with everyone in this room. You’ve all seen it yourself, you’ve all experienced it yourselves,” she said, according to Reuters.
Leavitt added that Trump often expresses frustration with what he sees as false reporting. “He calls out fake news when he sees it and gets frustrated with reporters who spread false information,” she said, according to Reuters.The incident occurred when Trump was asked about recently released emails in which Epstein alleged that Trump “knew about the girls.” Trump, who had a long-term friendship with Epstein before falling out in the 2000s, denied the claims. When the reporter attempted a follow-up question after Trump had moved on to another journalist, he pointed a finger, leaned in, and said: “Quiet! Quiet, piggy,” reported USA Today.Earlier in the week, Trump also called another female reporter from ABC “a terrible person” in the Oval Office after she asked about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and why he had not released Epstein-related files.The president’s remarks drew criticism from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), which condemned the demeaning language toward female reporters. SPJ Executive Director Caroline Hendrie said targeting female reporters with humiliating insults “should not be tolerated.”
