‘It’s kind of medieval’
President Trump, who has a history of making obscene and bigoted remarks, has once more caused widespread outrage after calling a female reporter ‘piggy’.
The Republican made the comments during a clash with reporter Catherine Lucey, onboard Air Force One on Friday, after she asked him about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and the possibility of the House voting to release all of the files related to his case.
Trump claimed he had no idea what Epstein was talking about when he wrote that the now-president knew about “the girls,” before saying he had a “very bad relationship” with Epstein.
As Lucey tried to ask him a follow up question and asked why Trump was opposed to the release of the files ‘if there’s nothing incriminating in the files’, Trump pointed at her and said: “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”
His comments have been condemned by female reporters as well as opposition politicians. CNN anchor Jake Tapper also criticised the remarks, writing on X: “Disgusting and completely unacceptable”.
Presenter and journalist Emily Maitlis has also condemned Trump’s remarks calling them ‘properly vile’ and said that Trump is a man who “doesn’t have the power of argument, so just uses abuse.”
She told LBC: “Trump has to turn to nicknames or he has to turn to abuse, and actually what it is fundamentally is it’s silencing, and he doesn’t do it as much with the men he tries to silence women.
“What it does is it basically makes you catch your breath and you pause and you don’t then quite have the guts to go for it or to ask your question, and everyone’s looking at you.”
“It’s kind of medieval,” Maitlis added.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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