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Which reporter did Donald Trump reportedly call 'piggy' and when did the incident occur?
Executive summary
President Donald Trump told a Bloomberg News reporter “Quiet, quiet, piggy” during an exchange aboard Air Force One on Friday, 14 November 2025; multiple outlets identify the reporter as Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey (e.g., People, BBC, Guardian) [1][2][3]. The remark drew swift criticism from journalists and journalism groups and prompted a defensive statement from the White House press office [4][5][6].
1. What happened, in plain terms
Video footage of a gaggle on Air Force One released by the White House shows President Trump being asked about recently released Jeffrey Epstein emails; when a Bloomberg reporter began a follow-up question, Trump pointed and said, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy,” cutting her off [2][7]. Reporting across major outlets identifies the timing as the flight on 14 November 2025 and describes the exchange as brief but viral [2][8].
2. Who the reporter is, and how that identification unfolded
Initial reporting credited CBS News’ Jennifer Jacobs with first reporting that a Bloomberg reporter was targeted, without naming her; subsequent coverage and outlet statements identify the journalist as Catherine Lucey, a Bloomberg White House correspondent [4][1]. People, BBC and Euronews all name Lucey and note her role at Bloomberg and prior outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and AP [1][2][5].
3. The immediate reactions — criticism and defense
Journalists and press organizations condemned the insult as misogynistic and unacceptable; CNN anchor Jake Tapper called the remark “disgusting and completely unacceptable,” and the Society of Professional Journalists and other commentators framed it as part of a pattern of hostile conduct toward women reporters [4][3]. The White House press office defended the president by saying the reporter “behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way” and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later defended Trump’s tone as frankness that the public should “appreciate,” prompting further pushback from media figures [6][9].
4. The substantive context: why the question was sensitive
The exchange occurred while reporters were asking about documents and emails related to Jeffrey Epstein — a subject that has political and reputational stakes for many public figures — and Trump was disputing or deflecting questions about his mentions in released materials; witnesses and outlets place the follow-up question as asking why he would not release files if they were not incriminating [2][7][8]. Reporters and lawmakers were pressing for transparency around the files, which heightened tensions in the gaggle [10].
5. Patterns and precedent cited by coverage
Multiple outlets placed the incident in a longer pattern of Trump’s personal attacks on female journalists, citing past instances (for example, past “Miss Piggy” references) and commentators who said the remark was consistent with prior behavior toward women in the press [4][8]. Critics argued that the insult undermines the role of a free press; defenders framed the incident as an overreaction to aggressive questioning [3][11].
6. Discrepancies and limits in reporting
While many outlets identify Catherine Lucey as the reporter involved, early accounts credited CBS’ Jennifer Jacobs with identifying only that it was a Bloomberg reporter; not every dispatch reproduced the reporter’s full on-camera exchange or named her immediately, and some commentary focused more on the broader pattern than on identifying the individual [4][12]. Available sources do not mention any public statement from Lucey herself in the cited coverage [1].
7. Why this matters politically and journalistically
News organizations say the insult is not just a personal affront but a concern for press freedom and professional norms, especially when invoked by the president aboard Air Force One and directed at a working White House correspondent [5][4]. Supporters of the president framed his reaction as a defense against perceived “fake news” or hostile questioning, a line reiterated by his press secretary [9][11].
8. Bottom line and what to watch next
Coverage consistently reports that Trump called a Bloomberg reporter “piggy” on 14 November 2025 and that Catherine Lucey is identified as the journalist involved; reactions split between condemnation from many journalists and defense from the White House [2][1][6]. Watch for any direct statement from Lucey, further White House clarifications, or formal responses from newsroom employers — current articles cited here do not include a direct on-the-record comment from the reporter herself [1].
Sources referenced above: The Guardian, People, BBC, The Telegraph, The New York Times, Yahoo/Mediaite, Euronews, Newsweek, Deadline, The Hill, The Independent, Daily Mail — as provided in the search results [3][1][2][8][13][9][5][10][14][6][11][15].