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Who is 'Peggy' and was she present when Trump made the comment?
Executive summary
Reporting identifies the reporter on the receiving end of the exchange as Bloomberg correspondent Catherine Lucey, and multiple mainstream outlets quote Trump saying “quiet, piggy” during a Nov. 14 gaggle on Air Force One [1] [2]. A viral counter-claim — amplified by Elon Musk’s Grok and some social posts — says Trump said “Peggy,” referring to Bloomberg’s Margaret “Peggy” Collins, but news organizations and fact-focused accounts reporting on the clip state Collins was not on the plane and that the reporter confronted was Lucey [3] [4] [5].
1. Who was the reporter who asked the question — Catherine Lucey, not “Peggy”
Contemporary coverage from People and other outlets identifies Catherine Lucey, a Bloomberg White House correspondent who began that role earlier in 2025, as the reporter who asked about the Epstein files and was singled out by Trump in the exchange [1]. Multiple news organizations that reported and published video of the gaggle name Lucey as the off‑camera questioner rather than anyone named Peggy [2] [6].
2. What did Trump say on the tape — majority reporting transcribes “piggy”
Published footage and journalistic transcripts have been quoted as carrying the phrase “Quiet, quiet piggy,” and outlets including Newsweek, The Guardian, Reuters and The Atlantic reported that wording in their coverage of the incident [2] [7] [8] [9]. The White House released video of the gaggle that has been widely circulated and cited in that reporting [2].
3. The “Peggy” counterclaim — origin and propagation
A viral claim, amplified by posts attributed to Musk’s Grok AI and some social commentary, argued the president said “Peggy” — suggesting he named Margaret “Peggy” Collins of Bloomberg — not “piggy” [5]. Entertainment and pop‑culture sites also chronicled the social spread; Primetimer summarized that Grok’s post and netizens triggered searches for which “Peggy” might have been present [4]. Those posts reinterpreted unclear audio and pushed a different narrative that the president was calling someone by name.
4. Journalistic pushback — Collins was not on Air Force One, per reporting
Hindustan Times and other outlets reported that Margaret “Peggy” Collins, Bloomberg’s Washington bureau chief, was not aboard Air Force One for that trip and that Catherine Lucey was the correspondent who confronted Trump — undermining the claim that he was referring to Collins by name [3]. Primetimer and follow‑up pieces noted the same: social posts citing “Peggy” did not align with reporting about who was physically present [4].
5. Competing interpretations and why the audio ambiguity matters
Audio of crowded press gaggles can be noisy; outlets and social platforms reached different listeners and posted differing transcriptions [5]. Proponents of the “Peggy” reading argued the clip’s audio supports a proper name and framed “piggy” as a media spin [5]. Mainstream newsrooms, having reviewed video and identified the reporter on camera/off camera, widely reported the insult framing and named Lucey as the target [2] [6].
6. How the White House framed the exchange and reactions from press organizations
The White House defended the president’s remark as “frankness” and pushed back against criticism, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying Trump’s manner reflects openness to reporters [10] [8]. Journalism organizations and many reporters condemned the language as demeaning; the Society of Professional Journalists and other outlets highlighted a pattern of disparaging language toward women in media coverage of the incident [7] [8].
7. Limitations in the record and what reporting does not say
Available sources do not provide an independent forensic audio analysis conclusively proving “piggy” over “Peggy” or vice versa; reporting relies on published video, newsroom identification of the questioner, and statements about who was aboard the plane [2] [3]. No provided source documents a contemporaneous on‑the‑record statement from Margaret “Peggy” Collins saying she was present or addressed by name; articles that propagated the “Peggy” reading derive from social posts and Grok’s claim rather than newsroom corroboration [4] [5].
8. Bottom line for readers
Mainstream news organizations reporting on the Air Force One clip identify the target as Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey and transcribe Trump’s phrase as “quiet, piggy” [1] [2]. Viral posts and AI‑backed claims that he said “Peggy” prompted scrutiny, but reporting that lists who was actually on the plane indicates Margaret “Peggy” Collins was not present, and outlets that viewed the tape named Lucey as the journalist involved [3] [4].