US President Donald Trump launched fresh attacks on two prominent female journalists this week, escalating tensions with the White House press corps and reigniting criticism over his treatment of reporters.
The latest flashpoint came on Tuesday during a high-profile Oval Office meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. As ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce pressed Trump on potential conflicts of interest involving his family business and its dealings with Saudi partners, the president abruptly cut her off.
“ABC fake news. One of the worst in the business,” he snapped, before insisting he had “nothing to do” with the Trump Organisation, now run by his two eldest sons. The company had just announced a new resort deal in the Maldives with a Saudi developer a day earlier.
Bruce also directed a pointed question at the crown prince, asking why Americans should trust him given US intelligence findings that he approved the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump intervened sharply, telling her she was embarrassing the visiting leader. Moments later, he went further, calling her a “terrible reporter” with a bad attitude and accusing ABC of spreading a “hoax.” He then urged the head of the US broadcast regulator to “look at” ABC’s licence before declaring, “No more questions from you.”
A Separate Clash Comes to Light
Tuesday’s confrontation followed a previously unseen exchange on Air Force One days earlier, when Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey questioned Trump about the forthcoming release of files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Congress had just voted overwhelmingly to make the records public.
Lucey asked why Trump seemed concerned about the documents if, as he claimed, they contained nothing incriminating. The question triggered an unusually personal response.
“Quiet. Quiet, piggy,” Trump said, pointing directly at her.
The remark surfaced only when a video clip began circulating on social media on Tuesday, drawing swift condemnation from journalists across major outlets. CNN’s Jake Tapper labelled the comment “disgusting and completely unacceptable,” while Bloomberg defended its reporter, saying its journalists “perform a vital public service, asking questions without fear or favour.”
Pattern of Insults Towards Women Reporters
The “piggy” remark adds to a long history of Trump targeting female journalists and public figures with similar language. He famously called 1996 Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado “Miss Piggy” and criticised her weight while he owned the pageant. In 2018, a Trump administration official referred to veteran White House correspondent April Ryan with the same insult, later issuing an apology. Trump himself had dismissed Ryan as a “loser” that same year.
Tensions Rise as Epstein Files Near Release
Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking, continues to be a politically charged topic. When Bruce asked Trump about the case on Tuesday, he doubled down on his anger. “It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude,” he said. “I think you are a terrible reporter.”
He repeated his claim that he had “nothing to do” with Epstein and described the scandal as a fabricated narrative, accusing ABC of helping to perpetuate it.
