Are there audio or video recordings confirming Trump called a reporter 'piggy'?
Executive summary
Multiple reputable news outlets report that President Donald Trump said “Quiet, quiet, piggy” to a female Bloomberg reporter during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One on Nov. 14, 2025, and the White House released video of the exchange; Reuters, The New York Times, CNN, CBC and others describe the remark and note it went viral [1] [2] [3] [4]. Snopes and several outlets say the full video is available on the White House’s YouTube page and that White House officials did not deny the words, instead defending the president’s tone as “frankness” [5] [2] [6].
1. What the reporting says: a viral clip and widespread coverage
News organizations — including Reuters, The New York Times, CNN, The Guardian, The Washington Post and PBS — recount the same incident: during a gaggle aboard Air Force One, a Bloomberg reporter pressed Trump about Jeffrey Epstein files and he interrupted with “Quiet. Quiet, piggy,” a phrase that was captured on video released by the White House and circulated widely online [1] [2] [3] [7] [8] [6]. Outlets describe the clip as brief but notable because it aligns with a pattern of the president’s disparaging language toward female journalists [1] [7] [3].
2. Is there audio or video confirming the remark? What the sources document
Multiple outlets say the White House posted video of the Air Force One gaggle that includes the exchange, and Snopes reports the full video is on the White House’s YouTube page; reporters and organizations subsequently quoted the line directly from that footage [5] [9] [2]. Reuters and CBC explicitly summarize the filmed exchange, and Newsweek and Deadline say the White House posted video showing Trump saying “Quiet, quiet piggy” as the reporter began to ask about the Epstein files [1] [4] [9] [10].
3. How the White House responded and competing framings
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly defended the president’s remark, framing it as evidence of Trump’s “frankness” and openness and suggesting reporters should “appreciate” that quality; she supplied no video-based correction of the wording and positioned the comment in political terms rather than disputing its existence [2] [6]. The White House also told some outlets that the reporter had behaved “in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues on the plane,” a claim outlets note was not substantiated in the reporting [11] [5].
4. Critics, press groups, and historical context
Press watchdogs and journalists condemned the language as demeaning. The Society of Professional Journalists and other commentators highlighted a pattern of gendered insults from Trump toward female journalists, citing past incidents such as earlier “Miss Piggy”-style taunts noted by The Guardian and others [1] [7]. Coverage highlights that the “piggy” line fits into a documented pattern of the president publicly insulting female reporters, which critics say crosses professional norms [7] [4].
5. Verification limits and what the available sources do not say
Available sources do not mention any official retraction of the video or an authenticated alternate audio track disputing the quote; reporting shows outlets relied on the White House-posted footage and on contemporaneous transcripts or summaries [5] [9]. None of the provided sources present forensic audio analysis or a contrary authenticated recording that refutes the quote — rather, reporting consistently cites the same clip and White House distribution of it [2] [5].
6. What to watch next — media, legal, and political angles
The immediate media angle is whether the White House or the reporter’s employer will seek disciplinary or legal remedies for the exchange; current reporting records public rebuke from press groups and a defensive framing from the White House, but does not report any formal sanctions or legal steps [1] [2] [4]. Politically, outlets note the episode surfaced amid debate over release of Epstein-related materials, and some coverage connects the insult to broader disputes about transparency and press access [9] [10].
Summary judgment: major outlets and a fact-checker report that video released by the White House captured Trump telling a reporter “Quiet, quiet, piggy,” and the White House defended him as being “frank,” while press groups condemned the language; no published source among those provided presents authenticated evidence contradicting that account [1] [2] [5].