From ‘piggy’ to ‘ugly’: Donald Trump’s latest insult to female reporters fuels backlash online

Donald Trump is once again lashing out at female journalists, following his viral outburst during which he called Bloomberg’s White House correspondent Catherine Lucey “piggy”.

Yesterday, Trump targeted a New York Times reporter in a Truth Social post, calling Katie Rogers “ugly inside and out.”

The data-driven report by The New York Times analysed Trump’s schedules this year, comparing them to his first term in office. The article found that Trump “keeps a shorter public schedule than he used to,” and “when he is in public, occasionally, his battery shows signs of wear.”

Trump criticized the newspaper for the article suggesting he was running low on energy in his 80th year, and that he was exhibiting “signs of fatigue” as he “faces realities of aging in office”.

Now the oldest US president, he clapped back by saying that “the creeps at the failing New York Times are at it again” and insisting he had “never worked so hard in my life”.

“The writer of the story, Katie Rogers, who is assigned to write only bad things about me, is a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out,” he wrote in his latest personal insult against female members of the media.

The response has been doing the rounds on social media, with many calling out Trump for his continuing displays of sexism and misogynist comments. A great many posts also made reference to Trump’s “quiet, piggy” slur and noted that Trump had singled out Rogers and not the article’s co-author Dylan Freedman.

Check out some of the reactions below:

Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the New York Times, defended its journalists, writing: “The Times’s reporting is accurate and built on first hand reporting of the facts. Name-calling and personal insults don’t change that, nor will our journalists hesitate to cover this administration in the face of intimidation tactics like this.”

The statement continued: “Expert and thorough reporters like Katie Rogers exemplify how an independent and free press helps the American people better understand their government and its leaders.”

The White House has defended Trump’s latest disparaging remark, with spokesperson Abigail Jackson addressing his “ugly” comment in a statement: “President Trump has never been politically correct, never holds back, and in large part, the American people re-elected him for his transparency.”

“This has nothing to do with gender,” Jackson continued. “It has everything to do with the fact that the President’s and the public’s trust in the media is at all time lows.”

The White House also defended Trump after his “quiet, piggy” line aimed at Catherine Lucey, with a White House official stating: “This reporter behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues on the plane.”

No evidence for this allegation was provided.

“If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take,” the statement continued.

When asked for specifics regarding what Lucey had done that was “inappropriate”, the White House did not respond.

Trump has a history of making gendered attacks. Whether it’s demeaning then Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly during his first presidential campaign, insulting journalist Yamiche Alcindor during a COVID-19 press briefing or calling TV host Rosie O’Donnell a “big, fat pig”, he rarely passes up an opportunity demean female journalists.

Another example came last week, when Mary Bruce, an ABC News White House correspondent, asked a question about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the Epstein scandal during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s White House visit.

Trump responded “It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter – it’s the way you ask these questions,” adding: “You’re a terrible person and a terrible reporter.”

The Society of Professional Journalists condemned Trump's attacks on both Bruce and Lucey, which it said were not isolated and "part of an unmistakable pattern of hostility - often directed at women - that undermines the essential role of a free and independent press."

Caroline Hendrie, executive director of the group, said in a statement: "When reporters ask hard questions about the murder of a fellow journalist, that is not an embarrassment. What's embarrassing is a leader trying to silence those questions."