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Has Donald Trump used similar derogatory nicknames for other journalists or media outlets?
Executive summary
Donald Trump has a long public record of inventing or using derogatory nicknames for political opponents, allies, and journalists — a practice documented in compilations such as Wikipedia’s list of his nicknames and multiple news profiles [1] [2]. Recent incidents in November 2025 — including calling a female reporter “piggy” during an Oval Office event — fit a broader pattern of personal insults directed at media figures [3] [4].
1. Pattern of nickname use: Trump’s branding as rhetorical strategy
Donald Trump repeatedly brands people and institutions with short, memorable epithets as a communication tactic; comprehensive compilations and profiles catalog hundreds of these monikers across years, showing the approach is longstanding rather than isolated [1] [2]. Journalists and observers treat this as part of his public persona: creating nicknames concentrates a complex critique into a single dismissive label that is easily amplified by media coverage [2].
2. Nicknaming journalists and media outlets: specific examples
Reporting and lists show Trump has not limited his nicknames to politicians — he has applied pejoratives to reporters and networks. Contemporary coverage cites instances such as his repeated altercations with ABC News, including mocking ABC personalities by altered names, and recent episodes where he used terms like “piggy” aimed at individual reporters during public events [5] [3] [4]. These episodes follow earlier patterns documented in media retrospectives of his verbal attacks on press figures [2].
3. How sources document and compile the nicknames
Wikipedia’s “List of nicknames used by Donald Trump” assembles many of these epithets and notes when he adopted or repurposed names coined by others, signaling both originality and recycling in his practice [1]. News outlets such as The Independent and feature roundups also trace memorable examples and provide context about targets and timing [2]. These compilations are secondary reporting that aggregate primary instances from speeches, interviews, and social media [1] [2].
4. Recent viral incident (November 2025) placed in context
Coverage from multiple outlets documented a November 18, 2025 Oval Office exchange in which Trump told a journalist to be “quiet, piggy” after questions about the Epstein files and other sensitive topics; Bloomberg and other organizations responded publicly to the insult [3] [4]. That moment was widely framed in reporting as consistent with “a documented history of making personal attacks on female journalists,” tying a single outbreak to an established pattern [4].
5. Competing interpretations in reporting
Some outlets treat the nicknames as political theater and a deliberate strategy to energize supporters and undermine critics; others emphasize the personal and sometimes sexist nature of the attacks, especially when directed at women journalists [2] [4]. The sources assembled here show both threads: systematic use as a branding tool [1] [2] and news coverage highlighting specific incidents judged by critics to be sexist or demeaning [4].
6. Limits of the available reporting and what is not found
Available sources in the provided set document many nicknames and several recent incidents aimed at journalists, but they do not provide a comprehensive, dated catalog of every media-targeted nickname across Trump’s career — that kind of exhaustive primary-source timeline is not present in the current set [1] [2]. Nor do these items in the collection include direct statements from Trump explaining his motives for each nickname beyond routine political messaging and mockery reported by outlets [1] [2].
7. Why this matters: effects on press freedom and public discourse
Reporting in this sample connects the practice to broader concerns about civility in public discourse and potential chilling effects on journalists, especially when outlets publicly defend reporters or issue statements after insults [4]. At the same time, other coverage frames nicknaming as an extension of partisan combat that has public-relations utility, underscoring the tension between media norms and political theater [2].
8. Bottom line and what readers should take away
The sources show a clear pattern: Trump has repeatedly used derogatory nicknames for journalists and media outlets, and the November 2025 “piggy” incident fits that pattern [1] [3] [4]. Readers should weigh both the rhetorical strategy aspect documented in nickname compilations and the ethical critiques highlighted in recent news reports; the provided reporting documents examples but does not supply an exhaustive, time-stamped inventory or Trump’s explicit rationale for each epithet [1] [2].