‘The View’ host Joy Behar slams Trump for calling female reporter ‘piggy’ over Epstein query

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Joy Behar, in an episode of ‘The View’, reacted to President Donald Trump’s latest insult towards a female reporter aboard Air Force One by telling her, “quite piggy”.

Behar condemned Trump’s response and noted that it is his habit of responding to legitimate questions with personal attacks, a part of long-established patterns. 

Joy Behar's reaction to Trump's remark

“First of all, you know, I just broke my toe, so I’m sensitive to the word ‘piggy,'” Behar said to start the conversation after reviewing footage of those two moments.

“That’s one thing, but he loves to call the ‘piggy’ thing. Alicia Machado, the winner of the Miss Universe pageant, he called her ‘Miss Piggy.’"

"He called Rosie O’Donnell ‘a big fat pig’ back in 2006. That’s his favorite word. But with those criticisms — they’re questions, really, they’re not criticisms, they’re just legitimate questions for somebody in his position to answer.”

“He doesn’t like the question, he attacks the questioner,” Behar noted, building on co-host Sara Haines’ criticism of Trump refusing to engage with the reporter’s question.

Trump insults reporter and White House's defense

Earlier, Trump confronted Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey on Air Force One last week after she asked why his administration was reluctant to release material on Epstein. “Quiet, Piggy," said Trump to Lucey.

In response to this, a White House official, on the condition of anonymity, told AFP news agency that the reporter had behaved “in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues…If you're going to give it, you have to be able to take,” the official said.

A video clip of the exchange showed Lucey and another reporter speaking at the same time, which is a common occurrence as reporters try to get the president’s attention while asking questions.

Trump's combative history with reporters

Trump also lashed out at an ABC News correspondent, Mary Bruce, in the Oval Office during a White House visit by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Bruce had posed questions to the Saudi crown prince regarding the murder of a dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi in 2018, and also on the business dealings of Trump's family and the Jeffrey Epstein controversy.

Following her questions, Trump told Bruce not to “embarrass our guest” and threatened to suspend ABC's broadcast license while calling her a “terrible reporter.”