Karoline Leavitt’s attempt to spin Trump’s “Piggy” comment on a reporter only made things worse.
Leavitt said the comment was just more proof that Trump is “very frank & honest” with the press. “You’ve all seen it yourselves. You’ve all experienced it yourselves,” she told reporters.
She went on to argue that this blunt style is actually more respectful than how past presidents treated the media.
“I think the president being frank and open and honest to your faces, rather than hiding behind your backs, is frankly a lot more respectful than what you saw in the last administration, where you had a president who would lie to your face and then didn’t speak to you for weeks,” Leavitt said.
When asked whether reporters should appreciate being insulted, Leavitt replied bluntly: “I think everyone in this room should appreciate the frankness and the openness that you get from President Trump on a near‑daily basis.”
PiggyReporting: Everyone in this room should appreciate the frankness and the openness that you get from the president Trump on daily basis… LOL pic.twitter.com/o3LiE3aGB6
— Angel Gallegos (@gallegoso) November 20, 2025
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Her defense came after a viral video showed Trump aboard Air Force One calling Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey “Piggy” when she asked about the Epstein files. In response, the White House accused Lucey of being “inappropriate and unprofessional,” but offered no real explanation for what she did.
Not everyone found Leavitt’s argument convincing as an apology. Critics pointed out that calling someone “Piggy” is hardly charming, especially when wrapped in a claim of “respect.”
Yes, because nothing says “respectful” like a 79-year-old president of the United States publicly nicknaming a female reporter “Piggy” to her face.
This is what passes for “frank and honest” in Trumpworld now—juvenile misogyny rebranded as transparency.
Karoline…
— Dr. Cole (@1drcole) November 20, 2025
They’re normalizing disrespect to avoid admitting he’s out of control.
— Theophilus M (@theophilus367) November 20, 2025
That’s strange, because when Hillary called trump supporters ‘deplorable,’ which was a much more accurate and honest assessment, MAGA lost their shit.
— Andrew A (@Used_2B_SEMPER) November 20, 2025
They didn’t even try to excuse it by saying “he meant Peggy”, they straight up said, “yeah, Trump has the maturity of a 11-year old”
— Pink Penguin (@Pink_Penguin_0) November 20, 2025
The press secretary basically said: Yes, he insults you, yes he’ll keep doing it and yes you should applaud.
— Abrar Ali Deshmukh (@abraralideshmuk) November 20, 2025
MAGA calls it frank and honest while the rest of the world calls it offensive and bullying….
Never normalize this kind of behaviour
— Great White North 🍁🇨🇦 (@MadeInCanada_eh) November 20, 2025
“You all deserve to be abused” is quite the gaslighting attempt…
— Steve 🇺🇦 Team Giant Asteroid (@screaser) November 20, 2025
Funny how him and his administration can call names but when someone calls them names they become snowflakes in a second
— El Amigo (@Therealstephe19) November 20, 2025
Maybe a better question would be why does the President constantly insult and demean woman reporters. Does she think there is a difference between insults and frankness?
— Seaotter (@Seaotter14) November 20, 2025
Featured image via X screengrab
