A vocal opponent of Donald Trump has criticized the White House press secretary for her explanation of a contentious remark made by the president to a journalist.
During an exchange with reporters, Trump was questioned by a female journalist about the Epstein files, a sensitive issue for him due to his known connections with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In response to the query, Trump retorted, “Quiet, piggy!”
The derogatory comment sparked widespread backlash after the footage circulated widely on social media. Despite the clear misogynistic implications of Trump’s remark, White House press secretary Leavitt defended him.
Leavitt argued that Trump was being ‘very frank and honest’, suggesting that his ‘honesty’ equated to being ‘respectful’ when he referred to a female reporter as ‘piggy’.
Bill Maher, a comedian and critic of Trump, has since reacted to Leavitt’s defense of Trump’s sexist comment.
During a discussion about the incident, Maher criticized Leavitt’s defense of Trump’s remark ‘quiet piggy’.
He remarked: “Listen to this, at the press conference the next day, his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, spun this by saying it’s actually admirable. She said it’s the president being frank and open and honest, that’s good!”
Echoing Trump’s misogynistic language, he added: “Well, in that case, shut up, b—h.”
Leavitt’s time as White House press secretary has been marked by various controversies.
Under her watch, the Associated Press was removed from the White House press pool due to their refusal to label the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America’ in their reporting.
Leavitt has also targeted journalists who pose challenging questions to the US government, such as HuffPost’s senior White House correspondent S.V. Dáte.
Dáte, an experienced and well-regarded journalist, posed a question to Leavitt about Russia’s violation of a prior agreement made in Budapest between Russia and Ukraine in 1994.
In a leaked message, he inquired: “Does he not see why Ukraine might object to that site? Who suggested Budapest? Thanks.”
Leavitt responded with a comment more typical of high school banter than a professional setting, writing: “Your mom did.”
When Dáte asked ‘is this funny to you?’ Leavitt launched a personal attack, stating: “It’s funny to me that you actually consider yourself a journal [sic]. You are a far left hack who nobody takes seriously, including your colleagues in the media, they just don’t tell you that to your face. Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bulls*** questions.”