Lara Trump, the former president's daughter-in-law, has publicly disputed the account that Donald Trump insulted a female journalist by calling her 'piggy' during a now-infamous press gaggle aboard Air Force One.
The Infamous Air Force One Exchange
The incident occurred on 14 November, when Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey questioned the president about government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In response, President Trump was recorded telling the journalist, 'quiet, piggy'.
At the time of the exchange, Trump was vehemently opposed to releasing the so-called Epstein files. He later performed a U-turn, signing a bill that forced the Justice Department to release them, despite having the executive power to do so without needing Congressional approval.
Backlash and a Podcast Confrontation
The president's remark drew immediate criticism. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel lambasted Trump on his late-night show, joking, 'If a man spoke like that to a female coworker in a workplace harassment training video, you’d go, 'Ah, that’s over the top. Nobody would do that.'' Kimmel has a history of criticising Trump, and the president previously celebrated a brief suspension of the comedian's show.
The denial from Lara Trump came during a sit-down interview on comedian Bill Maher's podcast, Club Random. Maher, who identifies as a liberal, was discussing political polarisation with Lara when he pointedly advised, 'Don’t do things like call a woman, 'piggy.''
Lara Trump's response was to question the event's veracity, asking, 'Do we know that happened?' Maher firmly replied, 'I saw it on tape.' Later in the conversation, Lara conceded that 'Donald Trump is not perfect,' a statement that prompted a spit-take from Maher, before adding that 'he does a lot of things that I think are great.'
Official Responses and Media Defence
A White House official previously defended the president's conduct to The Independent, claiming the reporter had 'behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues on the plane', and stated, 'If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take.'
In a robust defence of its journalist, Bloomberg issued a statement to The Guardian, asserting, 'Our White House journalists perform a vital public service, asking questions without fear or favor.' A spokesperson added, 'We remain focused on reporting issues of public interest fairly and accurately.'
