White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended President Donald Trump calling a reporter “piggy” aboard Air Force One this weekend, telling reporters on Thursday that “the president is very frank and honest with everyone in this room.”
“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,” Leavitt said during a press briefing.
Trump told Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey, “Quiet, piggy,” after she asked about his name being mentioned in email communications sent by Jeffrey Epstein. The remark, caught on video, received widespread criticism.
The White House has dismissed the condemnation. An unidentified White House official told multiple outlets Wednesday that the “reporter behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues on the plane.”
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“If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take,” the official said.
During Thursday’s briefing, Leavitt said Trump was reelected because of his “frankness.”
“He calls out fake news when he sees it, gets frustrated with reporters when you lie about him, when you spread fake news about him and his administration,” Leavitt said. “But he also is the most transparent president in history.”
In recent days Trump has lashed out at multiple reporters. During an Oval Office meeting Tuesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump called ABC News’ Mary Bruce “a terrible person and a terrible reporter.”
“It’s not the question I mind, it’s your attitude,” Trump said after Bruce asked questions about the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi and another on the Epstein files.
The president on Wednesday also renewed his attacks on late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel, after the comedian made several jokes about Congress passing the Epstein discharge petition.
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