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Has Trump made similar derogatory comments about journalists in other incidents?
Executive summary
Donald Trump has a long, well-documented pattern of publicly insulting and belittling journalists — including repeated derogatory terms aimed at women — and recent incidents (calling Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey “piggy” and telling an ABC reporter she was “a terrible person and a terrible reporter”) fit that pattern [1] [2] [3]. Commentators, press groups and news outlets characterize these remarks as part of an “escalation” that echoes earlier incidents going back to 2015–2018 and through his first term [4] [3] [2].
1. A consistent pattern: insults, gendered slurs and public denigration
Reporting across outlets points to a sustained habit of deriding reporters, often with gendered language: the recent “quiet, piggy” exchange with Catherine Lucey and the “terrible reporter/terrible person” rebuke of an ABC correspondent are cited as the latest examples in a continuum that includes epithets such as “bimbo,” “third-rate reporter,” “dummy,” and the infamous 2015 “blood coming out of her wherever” line aimed at Megyn Kelly [4] [2] [3]. News organizations and press-freedom groups frame these incidents not as isolated outbursts but as part of an unmistakable pattern of hostility toward journalists [2] [4].
2. Recent incidents seen as escalation amid sensitive news cycles
Multiple outlets link the timing and tone of the recent attacks to sensitive reporting topics — notably questions about Jeffrey Epstein and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi — arguing the attacks were especially striking because they came while those stories were in focus and because the targets were female reporters asking hard questions [2] [1] [5]. PEN America and other commentators described the week’s mix of insults, threats about licensing and dismissive comments about a murdered journalist as an “escalation” [4] [1].
3. Historical antecedents cited by the press
Coverage repeatedly points to prior episodes from both his 2016 campaign and his first administration as context: Trump called the press “the enemy of the American people,” sparred publicly with Jim Acosta in 2018, and has a history of calling reporters “fake news” and other derogatory labels. Commentators and outlets list these earlier clashes to show continuity between past and present behavior [3] [6] [7].
4. Reactions from media organizations and press-freedom advocates
Journalistic groups and watchdogs registered alarm: the Society of Professional Journalists and PEN America condemned recent remarks as reinforcing hostility that undermines independent press roles; mainstream outlets editorialized and commentators called for journalists and outlets to respond robustly [2] [4]. Opinion pieces and broadcast panels have emphasized both the frequency of attacks and the specific indignity faced by women reporters [8] [9].
5. Political and audience response: polarised interpretations
Polling cited in coverage shows a divided public: a recent YouGov survey asked whether Trump’s treatment of journalists was acceptable and found a plurality calling it unacceptable, though a significant minority find it acceptable — illustrating that assessments of his conduct are politically polarized [10]. Editorial and opinion outlets interpret the same behavior through different lenses: some frame it as corrosive to press freedom and democratic norms, others emphasize partisan context and past antagonisms between Trump and specific outlets [7] [5].
6. What the reporting does and does not show
Available sources document multiple instances and a clear pattern of derogatory remarks toward journalists, especially female reporters, and identify similar language used over years [4] [2] [3]. Available sources do not mention every alleged instance or provide a comprehensive catalog of every insult; they focus on illustrative episodes and commentary linking them to long-term behavior (not found in current reporting).
7. How to interpret the pattern: competing frames
One frame presented by commentaries and press groups treats repeated insults as a deliberate, harmful campaign that undermines press independence and can chill reporting [2] [4]. Another frame, visible in some political commentary and in public opinion splits, treats such exchanges as continuations of a confrontational political style that supporters accept or even applaud, or as reactions to particular lines of questioning [10] [7]. Both frames appear in the provided reporting [2] [10] [7].
8. Bottom line for readers
The record in current reporting clearly shows repeated derogatory comments by Trump toward journalists across multiple years and episodes, with recent “piggy” and “terrible reporter” incidents being placed by press organizations and many outlets in that longer pattern [1] [2] [4]. Interpretations differ sharply along political lines and among commentators, and available sources emphasize both the pattern itself and its potential consequences for press freedom and democratic norms [2] [4].