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Which reporter or news outlet did Trump allegedly call 'piggy' and what was the context?
Executive summary
President Trump called a Bloomberg reporter “quiet, piggy” during a Nov. 14 gaggle on Air Force One after she pressed him about newly released Jeffrey Epstein emails that mentioned him; the reporter has been identified in multiple outlets as Bloomberg correspondent Catherine Lucey (or “a Bloomberg reporter” in some pieces) [1] [2] [3]. The comment was captured on video released by the White House and drew pushback from journalists and critics even as the White House defended the president’s remark [4] [5].
1. What happened — the exchange in plain view
Video of a Nov. 14 Air Force One gaggle shows a female Bloomberg reporter trying to follow up as Trump was asked about whether recently released Epstein emails contained anything “incriminating”; Trump pointed at her, cut her off and said, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy,” before answering another question [6] [1] [2].
2. Who is being named — conflicting but converging reports
Several outlets identify the journalist as Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey, while others cite CBS’s Jennifer Jacobs reporting that the target was “a Bloomberg reporter” without naming her; mainstream coverage therefore converges on Bloomberg as the outlet and Lucey as the reporter in many accounts, though some stories phrase it more generically [1] [3] [2].
3. The immediate context — Epstein records and political stakes
The gaggle occurred as Congress and transparency advocates were pushing to release Justice Department and other records tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; several email threads released by lawmakers had referenced Trump by name, prompting reporters to press the White House and increasing sensitivity around the subject [6] [1] [7].
4. How outlets framed the remark — outrage, pattern, defense
News organizations emphasized the insult and its tone: some presented it as part of a pattern of demeaning treatment of female journalists, citing past episodes and reactions from media-watch groups, while other coverage noted the White House defense that reporters “have to be able to take” tough exchanges; media commentary therefore mixed condemnation with the administration’s pushback [3] [5] [8].
5. The White House response and political fallout
The White House released the full video and subsequently defended Trump’s language, with administration spokespeople framing the interaction as an acceptable rebuke to a pressing question; critics — including journalist advocates cited in reporting — called the rhetoric demeaning and unbecoming of the presidency [4] [5] [3].
6. Variations in reporting and what’s confirmed
Confirmed across multiple outlets: the phrase “Quiet, quiet piggy” was used on Air Force One when a Bloomberg reporter pressed about Epstein emails, and the moment was widely circulated in video form [1] [6] [4]. Less uniformly reported: a small subset of stories explicitly names Catherine Lucey, while others rely on CBS’s Jennifer Jacobs or simply say “a Bloomberg reporter,” so the identification, though commonly reported, appears in both named and unnamed forms across the coverage [1] [3].
7. Historical and rhetorical framing offered by coverage
Reporters and commentators placed the exchange in a longer pattern of personal attacks by Trump on female journalists — coverage recalled prior instances (for example, other derogatory nicknames reported in the past) and linked the remark to broader concerns about the tone of presidential interactions with the press [3] [9].
8. Limits of the available reporting
Available sources uniformly report the gaggle, the wording and the Bloomberg connection, but differ in how explicitly they identify the reporter [3] [1]. Sources do not provide a contemporaneous statement from Catherine Lucey herself in these items, and available reporting does not include any on-the-record apology from the president to the reporter [2] [4].
9. Why this matters — public trust, transparency and norms
The episode intersects two public-interest threads: transparency about Epstein-related records and norms of presidential conduct toward the press. Coverage highlights how a charged subject (Epstein emails) can provoke an abrasive presidential response that media critics say undermines professional norms; the White House defense frames it as routine pushback in a contentious political environment [1] [5] [3].
10. Bottom line for readers
Multiple mainstream outlets documented that President Trump called a Bloomberg reporter “quiet, piggy” while she questioned him about Epstein emails, with many stories naming Catherine Lucey and others citing a Bloomberg reporter via CBS reporting; the full video was released by the White House and provoked both criticism and a White House defense in subsequent coverage [1] [4] [5].