White Home Says Trump ‘Piggy’ Remark Exhibits His ‘Frankness And Openness’

[ad_1] Would you reasonably have a president who's “frank and open” or “hides behind your again and doesn’t converse to you for weeks.” That was the selection White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt laid out at Thursday’s press briefing when she defended President Trump’s newest conflict with the press the place he allegedly mentioned “Quiet, piggy” to Bloomberg Reporter Catherine Lucey.

“I believe the president being frank, open and trustworthy to your faces reasonably than hiding behind your backs is frankly much more respectful than what you noticed from the previous administration,” acknowledged Leavitt. “You had a president who lied to your face and didn’t converse to you for weeks. He hid upstairs and didn’t take your questions. I believe everybody on this room ought to admire the frankness and the openness that you simply get from President Trump on a close to day by day foundation.”

Trump’s sharp tongue is well-known and Leavitt didn’t deny it. The president’s insults have prolonged even to his closest allies: he’s referred to as present Protection Secretary Marco Rubio “Little Marco,” his former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany “Kayleigh ‘Milktoast’ McEnany,” and former Vice President Mike Pence “Liddle Mike Pence,” and most lately, he referred to as longtime supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene “Wacky Marjorie” and “Marjorie Traitor Greene.”

Reporters haven’t been spared both. He has dismissed journalists as “pretend information,” referred to as Megyn Kelly a “light-weight reporter,” and New York Instances reporter Maggie Haberman “Maggot Haberman.”

Leavitt believes the president’s bluntness could also be why he holds the nation’s highest workplace at this time.

“I believe the president’s frankness is without doubt one of the causes the American individuals reelected him,” mentioned Leavitt.

“He calls out pretend information when he sees it and will get pissed off with reporters if you lie about him and unfold pretend information about his administration, however he's additionally essentially the most clear president in historical past. He provides all of you unprecedented entry. You might be within the Oval Workplace nearly every single day asking the president questions.”

Trump’s “piggy” remark occurred when he was taking questions from reporters aboard Air Drive One when Lucey requested, “Mr. President, what did Jeffrey Epstein imply in his electronic mail if you mentioned you knew about ‘the women?’”

Trump responded, “I do know nothing about that. They might have introduced that a very long time in the past. It’s actually what did he imply when he spent all that point with Invoice Clinton, with the President of Harvard Larry Summers, and all the opposite individuals he hung out with. Jeffrey Epstein and I had a really unhealthy relationship for a few years, however he additionally noticed [inaudible] that I used to be president who he dictated a few memos to himself, give me a break. You’re going to seek out out what did he know with respect to Invoice Clinton, with respect to the top of Harvard, with respect to all of these individuals who he knew, together with JP Morgan Chase.”

On Wednesday, President Trump signed the invoice to launch the Epstein recordsdata. After he completed answering Lucey’s query, he mentioned, “Yeah, Jennifer, go forward” signaling to a different reporter that it was her flip to ask a query.

Lucey interrupted the president by asking one other query that began with, “If there’s nothing incriminating within the recordsdata…” Trump lower her off and mentioned, “Quiet, quiet piggy” earlier than turning again to the opposite reporter and telling her once more to “go forward.”