A prominent Republican Congresswoman has defended Donald Trump after he told Bloomberg reporterCatherine Lucey to be “quiet, piggy.”
Representative María Elvira Salazar said that Trump looked "picturesque," as he scolded the journalist, and also remarked that “no one is perfect.”
Salazar defended the commander-in-chief while speaking to CNN host Jake Tapper on yesterday’s episode of The Lead, where she also let slip that she thinks Trump is a “difficult” politician.
“You know, President Trump is a very picturesque, and difficult, and different type of politician,” Salazar said. “But I always say that I look at his policies and not at his personality.
“No one is perfect. Those who are perfect are in heaven.”
The president has had several run-ins with journalists over the past few days, with his string of spats kicking off with his branding of the Bloomberg reporter as a “piggy.”
Trump was answering a question about deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, with whom he claimed to have a “very bad relationship”, before moving on to another journalist’s question.
When the first reporter tried to follow up on her question, Trump raised a single finger at her before demanding that she be “quiet, quiet piggy.”
Speaking in a cartoonish voice, the president leaned towards her before swiftly moving on to brag about the fact that he has “made up” his mind on his plan to deal with the rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela. He refused to elaborate on what those plans will actually involve.
White House correspondent for MS Now, Vaughn Hillyard, tweeted the official response to the criticism, dismissing the controversy.
“This reporter behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues on the plane. If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take.”
On Monday, The Atlantic published a feature detailing Trump’s long history of denigrating female journalists, including one of his biggest boosters, Megyn Kelly.
“There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever,” Trump famously said after a Republican primary debate hosted by Fox News where he felt the host had unfairly treated him.
In a further response, California Governor Gavin Newsom posted several memes showing Trump with a photo-shopped pig nose as well a picture showing him with Epstein with the caption: ‘Piggies.”
Another former Fox News host, Gretchen Carlson, called Trump’s remarks “disgusting and degrading.” While Tapper tweeted the clip with the words, “Disgusting and completely unacceptable.”
Lucey’s employer, Bloomberg, also reacted to the president’s reaction to the question.
“Our White House journalists perform a vital public service, asking questions without fear or favor. We remain focused on reporting issues of public interest fairly and accurately.”
Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado accused Trump of calling her “Miss Piggy” and telling her to lose weight in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, April Ryan, a White House correspondent, told The Guardian this week that a Trump official, Lynne Patton, called her “Miss Piggy” in 2018.
“The president of the United States is supposed to be the moral leader, the leader of the country, and he’s acting like some thug on the street. It’s one thing for his minions to say that, but for him to call a woman that? That also shows how upset he is about the Epstein files. It lets us know that there’s probably some fire there.”
Later, he clashed with ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce in the Oval Office while taking questions alongside Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
The Saudi leader was on his first state visit to the United States following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump became defensive when addressed by Bruce and said that “the license should be taken away from ABC, because your news is so fake and wrong.”
