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Which reporter was allegedly called 'piggy' by Trump, and is there video or transcript of the incident?
Executive summary
Reporting identifies Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey as the reporter President Trump allegedly called “piggy” during a Nov. 14 Air Force One gaggle; the exchange is shown in video the White House posted and has been widely quoted in outlets including Reuters and People [1] [2]. News organizations report the phrase as “Quiet, quiet, piggy,” and the White House publicly defended the remark as “frankness” through press secretary Karoline Leavitt [1] [3].
1. What reporters and outlets are naming the journalist?
Multiple mainstream outlets identify Catherine Lucey of Bloomberg as the journalist singled out when Trump said “Quiet, quiet, piggy” while reporters questioned him about the Jeffrey Epstein files; People, Euronews, Deadline and others directly name Lucey [2] [4] [5]. Some early social posts and reporting initially referenced a Bloomberg reporter without naming her, but legacy outlets have since connected the clip to Lucey [6] [7].
2. Is there video or a transcript of the moment?
Yes. Reporters and fact-checkers note that the full gaggle video was posted by the White House and that the brief “Quiet, piggy” moment appears in that footage; Snopes says the full video is available on the White House YouTube page and describes the interaction occurring Nov. 14 [7]. Reuters and other outlets describe the exchange as visible in the Air Force One clip [1].
3. What exactly is on the clip and how do outlets quote it?
News reports consistently quote the words as “Quiet, quiet, piggy” or “Quiet, piggy,” with descriptions of Trump pointing and cutting off a female Bloomberg reporter as she began a follow-up question about the released Epstein emails [8] [5] [9]. Outlets note she began, “If there’s nothing incriminating in the files…” before he interjected and turned to another reporter [8] [2].
4. How has the White House responded and how is that being reported?
The White House publicly defended the president’s remark: press secretary Karoline Leavitt framed it as an example of Trump’s “frankness and transparency” and said voters appreciate that candor; Reuters and The New York Times reported Leavitt’s remarks at a Nov. 20 briefing [1] [3]. Coverage also records that Leavitt portrayed the incident as part of the president’s routine, near-daily engagement with reporters [10].
5. What pushback or criticism has appeared in the coverage?
Journalists, press-watch groups and commentators condemned the language as demeaning; CNN’s Jake Tapper called it “disgusting and completely unacceptable,” and press watchdogs criticized targeting women reporters with humiliating insults—as reported by The New York Times and Reuters [3] [1]. Bloomberg issued a statement defending its White House journalists after outlets linked Lucey to the exchange [4].
6. Discrepancies, limitations and alternative portrayals in reporting
Some initial reports and social posts did not name the reporter and focused on the clip’s circulation rather than identifying Lucey; The Guardian notes Jennifer Jacobs (CBS) first reported Trump called “a Bloomberg News reporter ‘piggy’” without initially naming her [6]. Opinion and local coverage vary in tone—some frame the moment as one outrage among many, others treat it as emblematic of the president’s treatment of female journalists [8] [11]. The Gateway Pundit reprints the White House defense in partisan terms; outlets differ in emphasis and framing [12].
7. What is not found in current reporting
Available sources do not mention any official White House transcript that independently transcribes the gaggle beyond the posted video; reporting instead cites the White House video and journalists’ accounts [7]. Available sources do not provide a public, verbatim, third‑party transcript produced separately from the White House video release [7].
8. Takeaway for readers seeking the primary evidence
The primary evidence journalists cite is the White House video of the Air Force One gaggle that contains the moment; fact‑checks and multiple news stories point readers to that clip [7] [1]. For viewers seeking verification, the consensus in reporting is that the exchange appears on the posted footage and that Catherine Lucey is the named Bloomberg correspondent most outlets identify as the reporter addressed [2] [5].