Calling people by insulting, if infantile, names is something of Trump’s hallmark. There was Crooked Hillary and Sleepy Joe, Little Marco and Lyin’ Ted Cruz. It appeared that Trump believed this somehow tainted his enemies by branding them, even if the appeal of such childish tactics failed to go beyond his most faithful supporters.
But the manner in which he addressed Bloomberg News reporter, Catherine Lucey, on Air Force One went beyond the pale.
On Air Force One on Friday, he cut off a reporter for Bloomberg News, Catherine Lucey, when she tried to ask why he had not yet released the Epstein files.
“Quiet!” the president said. “Quiet, piggy.”
If a reporter called out a question, “Hey fatso, why did you release the Epstein files,” there is no doubt that the reporter would be rightfully criticized for failing to show the office of president the respect it deserved. It’s not that Trump personally deserves any greater respect than he’s shown others, but that he is president, and as president should be shown respect despite the fact that he’s demonstrated neither dignity nor grace in how he’s performed as president. Like it or not, that’s how it works. Elect a vulgar, deceitful, narcissistic ignoramus and that’s what you get.
But calling a reporter, a woman who had once been a Miss Universe contestant no less, “piggy” isn’t merely a new low, but below any nadir tolerable from a person holding public office.
Did Trump apologize for his offensive speech? Have you met Trump? Instead, he attacked ABC reporter Mary Bruce for asking Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly at MbS’s orders.
“You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” Mr. Trump told the journalist, Mary Bruce of ABC News, later referring to her query as “a horrible, insubordinate, and just a terrible question.”
Nothing particularly new there, as Trump routinely tells reporters they’re terrible for asking questions that displease him. But that’s not where he stopped as he obsequiously protected the crown prince from eminently reasonable questions.
“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the murdered journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”
A journalist was murdered and dismembered and Trump’s response was people didn’t like him, as if that makes such a thing acceptable? Things happen, like murder and dismemberment by the fellow sitting in the glitzy Oval Office is just one of those things? But Trump wasn’t done with Bruce, who followed up with a question about why Trump didn’t just direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the Epstein files, as he could have done at any time.
On Tuesday, regarding Ms. Bruce, the president referred to ABC as a “crappy company” and said that the network’s broadcasting license “should be taken away.” He said that his top broadcast regulator, Brendan Carr, whose agency grants licenses to local stations, “should look at that.”
Yet again, Trump threatens to have his sycophantic FCC head “take away” ABC’s broadcasting license for not saying enough nice things about Trump. While dodging the question, as he typically does, Trump went on.
“It’s not the question that I mind; it’s your attitude,” Mr. Trump told Ms. Bruce, in scolding tones. “I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions.” He added: “You’re a terrible person and a terrible reporter.”
The job of reporting isn’t to ask a president to name his favorite McDonald’s meal, but to ask serious questions without fear or favor. There is no legal requirement that the president answer any question, whether or not he likes it or despises the reporter for her “attitude” or waist size, a matter of some particular interest for Trump. But the vitriol directed at reporters, notably women reporters, is outrageous. And there is no universe where Trump saying “quiet, piggy,” is anything other than outrageously offensive.
It’s somewhat understandable that in the grand scheme of offensive and outrageous things that come out of Trump’s mouth, we’ve become desensitized to his infantile behavior and offensive language. Still, calling a reporter “piggy” is a low to which no president should ever go. Not even the guy who brags that he grabs women by their pussies.
Discover more from Simple Justice
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
He disrespects himself and denigrates the office of President and denigrates all of us when behaving this way. Classless.
That’s quite a fall, going from publicly mocking a man’s physical disabilities to this. Who could have seen it coming?
We know who’s the pig.
He’s called women pigs before, so this is nothing new, sadly.
The white house has responded to the situation:
Full quote from the white house:
“This reporter behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way toward her colleagues on the plane. If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take,”.
From what I can tell, all she did was try to ask the president a question, at the same time as another reporter was also asking a question. Which happens every day. Maybe you can consider trying to talk over someone else rude in polite company, but reporters have always done this to each other. And I’m not sure how what she said makes her deserving to be talked down to and called a piggy.
The lying, failing, propaganda-pushing MSM richly deserves every insult that can be heaped upon them, by Trump or anyone else, but he could and should try to act presidential even when dishing out insults. Witty, well-founded critiques of the media would be more effective and would be less damaging to the prestige of the office, and he was far better at this a few years ago.
It appears that he may be losing it, Biden-style. He’s probably in 2012-Biden territory at this point. I have hope that he will degrade as slowly as Biden did and won’t descend into drooling decrepitude until at least 2029.
How about this: If the president doesn’t want to answer a question… either ignore it, or say no comment, like almost every other president and politician? Is that too boring? Too presidential?
Also, is your example of a witty comment, calling the press the “Enemy of the People”? So witty. So reminiscent of other would be or actual god kings.
When has trump actually been witty since 2015? I honestly cannot recall one thing that could be called witty, but I can surely recall the horrific things he has said. Telling a crass joke that someone else came up with, or copy/pasting an image of dropping poop on protesters that someone else made doesn’t count.
Trump at his prime (2010-2018) was one of the most talented entertainers of our generation. If you don’t recognize that, you are probably suffering from TDS. Did you see him destroy Jeb Bush and the rest of his 2016 primary opponents? How did that happen? He told some good lies about the things that he would do if elected (stop stupid wars, kick out illegals, etc.) but his primary appeal was his comedic talent. And yes, the corrupt, oligarch-owned MSM is the enemy of the people, and by calling that out he hastened their decline into irrelevancy. His ability to recognize the flaws of his opponents and turn them into creative insults on the fly was a big factor in his success.
Trump has his flaws but they did not include a lack of wit or comedic timing, not until he started declining.