«Quiet, piggy!»: What is going on with Trump?

The moment that drew the most attention came when a Bloomberg journalist pushed him on why, if there is nothing incriminating in the files, he is acting as if there is. 

Donald Trump’s exchange with reporters aboard Air Force One over the weekend took a shocking turn when he tried to dodge a question about the Epstein Files from a Bloomberg journalist, responding with a degrading insult that quickly went viral on social media.

As Trump and his administration face growing controversy over his stance on the Epstein Files, refusing to release them, claiming the whole affair is «a Democrat hoax», and even disavowing one of his most loyal allies, Marjorie Taylor Greene, after she insisted he should release all the files, the pressure around the issue has intensified in Washington.

During a tense week, after a wave of renewed questions following the release of thousands of Jeffrey Epstein’s private emails and documents — many of which referenced Trump among others — and as the Epstein dossier refused to fade from the headlines, the president cut off a journalist in a way many have described as disgusting.

The moment, captured on video aboard Air Force One, shows Trump seemingly trying to dodge a question about the Epstein Files, turning to a female reporter, later identified as a Bloomberg journalist. In the video, the Bloomberg reporter is heard pressing him on why, if there is nothing incriminating in the files, he is acting as if there is, while Trump tries to quickly move on to another journalist to escape the question before turning back and insulting her: «Quiet. Quiet, piggy!»

Even though the public has grown used to Trump’s frequent skirmishes with the press, he has recently leaned more on explicitly silencing language, and in recent weeks Trump has repeatedly used «Be quiet» to shut down journalists, barking «Be quiet!» at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins when she pressed him on his latest Epstein claim and telling NBC’s Yamiche Alcindor «Be quiet, listen!» when she questioned him about his Chicago rhetoric.

Jennifer Jacobs, a CBS News reporter who was also aboard Air Force One as Trump traveled to his Florida home on Friday night, recounted the exchange in detail on X. She explained that the gaggle grew tense as Trump was pressed on the newly released Epstein emails. When asked what Epstein meant when he said Trump «knew about the girls», the president responded: «I know nothing about that.» He then added: «Jeffrey Epstein and I had a very bad relationship for many years.»

But the moment that drew the most attention came when a Bloomberg journalist pushed him on why, if there is nothing incriminating in the files, he is acting as if there is. According to Jacobs, Trump abruptly turned to the reporter and said: «Quiet, quiet, piggy!» a remark that was captured on video and quickly went viral because of its degrading tone.

The gaggle continued with a rapid series of questions. Asked whether he had ruled out pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate and a convicted sex offender, Trump replied: «I haven’t even thought about it,» and then: «I don’t rule it in or out. I don’t even think about it.» On Marjorie Taylor Greene’s call to release all the files, he said: «They can have whatever they want,» before insisting: «I was never on his island. Bill Clinton went there supposedly 28 times.»

Trump then argued that if anything damaging existed, «they would've used it before the election.» When Jacobs asked why, then, his own team had encouraged Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert not to pursue the matter, he answered that «it's bad to talk about it» when Republicans should be focusing on «how well we've done.» He also said he had heard that Pam Bondi had tapped U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, described by Trump as «a real legal talent», to look into Epstein’s ties to prominent Democrats.