The White House has moved quickly to defend Donald Trump after he shushed a female reporter aboard Air Force One and called her “piggy” during a heated exchange over the newly released Epstein files.
The encounter unfolded on the flight to Palm Beach, where reporters pressed Trump on his past association with Jeffrey Epstein and why he had initially opposed making the documents public.
Footage shows the tension escalated when Bloomberg reporter, Catherine Lucey, asked what Epstein meant in an email claiming Trump “knew about the girls” recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump brushed it off: “I know nothing about that. They would have announced a long time ago.” He pivoted to Epstein’s relationships with Democrats, saying, “Jeffrey Epstein and I had a very bad relationship for many years.”
When another reporter attempted a follow-up – “If there’s nothing incriminating in the files sir” – Trump leaned in, pointed directly at her and snapped, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”
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The White House later justified his behaviour by attacking the journalist involved, arguing in a statement that “this reporter behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues on the plane.”
It added, “If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take it.”
Catherine Lucey
Who is Catherine Lucey?
Lucey is a seasoned political reporter, and began her career in Pennsylvania after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, later moving to Iowa to cover politics and government.
She reported on the 2016 presidential race for the Associated Press and the 2020 election for The Wall Street Journal, where she has continued covering both the Trump and Biden administrations.
Blowback across the media
Bloomberg, the reporter’s employer, quickly defended its staff.
“Our White House journalists perform a vital public service, asking questions without fear or favour,” it said.
“We remain focused on reporting issues of public interest fairly and accurately.” Criticism spread across US media circles, with CNN’s Jake Tapper calling the remark “disgusting and completely unacceptable” and former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson describing it as “degrading.”