‘Unforgivable’: Trump’s ‘piggy’ insult is stoking more outrage than usual; The Guardian, November 19, 2025

 Rachel Leingang , The Guardian; ‘Unforgivable’: Trump’s ‘piggy’ insult is stoking more outrage than usual

"It’s one outrage in days full of outrageous material.

“Quiet, piggy,” Donald Trump told a female reporter in a press gaggle, pointing his finger at her angrily.

It wasn’t the first time – not even the hundredth time – the US president has attacked the media. And it’s hard for any storyline to break through the administration’s “flood the zone” strategy, much less one like this. Nothing seems to stick. But the “quiet, piggy” clip has taken off, several days after the admonishment occurred on Air Force One last Friday, and without much help from the media itself.

“I don’t know why the ‘Piggy’ thing is bothering me so much,” wrote Hank Green, a YouTuber and author. “It’s one more unforgivable thing in a list of 20,000 unforgivable things, but I’ve been mad about it for like 12 straight hours.”...

Part of the collective ire could be that no one in the press gaggle jumped to Lucey’s defense in the video, underlining that those attacked by Trump often stand alone while others fear becoming next on his list; the media backbone that stiffened in his first term has wilted, under exhaustion and at the hands of Trump-friendly owners, in his second. The condemnations of Trump and accolades for both journalists came after the fact...

In Trump 2.0, you never know which affronts to decency will stick in people’s minds. This one, though, has a symbolism that seems to be resonating.

“Portland has reclaimed the frog as a symbol of its resistance to Trump’s efforts to militarize the city,” former US attorney and commentator Joyce Alene wrote on X. “Perhaps women should claim the glamorous, sassy Muppet Miss Piggy, a known diva with a fierce karate chop, as their own symbol.”"

MAGA Attorney Threatens To Sue Journalists Over ‘Unpatriotic’ Reporting; Gets The Exact Response He Deserves; Above The Law, June 27, 2025

Kathryn Rubino , Above The Law; MAGA Attorney Threatens To Sue Journalists Over ‘Unpatriotic’ Reporting; Gets The Exact Response He Deserves

[Kip Currier: The New York Times' refusal to capitulate to Trump administration bullying of reporters and defamation lawsuit threats regarding NYT reporting on the Iran bombings earlier this week is a model for other news organizations. As NYT attorney David McCraw explained in his response letter to a Trump lawyer calling for a retraction and apology:

“No retraction is needed.” He continued, “No apology will be forthcoming. We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”"]

The paragraph right before that rebuke, though, is equally assertive but articulates the public's interest in access to truthful reporting and the ability to assess leadership decision-making in a democracy:

But let's not lose sight of the larger point to be made. The American public has a right to know whether the attack on Iran -- funded by taxpayer dollars and of enormous consequence to every citizen -- was a success. We rely on our intelligence services to provide the kind of impartial assessment that we all need in a democracy to judge our country's foreign policy and the quality of our leaders' decisions. It would be irresponsible for a news organization to suppress that information and deny the public the right to hear it. And it would be even more irresponsible for a president to use the threat of libel litigation to try to silence a publication that dared to report that the trained, professional, and patriotic intelligence experts employed by the U.S. government thought that the President may have gotten it wrong in his initial remarks to the country."] 

[Excerpt]

"President Donald Trump doesn’t like anyone asking too many questions about the Iran strikes he unilaterally authorized. In fact, when news outlets report that the bombings were not as destructive as Trump initially boasted, he (and other members of his administration

(Opens in a new window)) lashed out at members of the media. On Truth Social, he called out(Opens in a new window) journalists from CNN and the New York Times as “fake news reporters” who are “bad people with evil intentions.” 

But that wasn’t the end of Trump’s tantrum. His personal attorney Alejandro Brito sent letters to the NYT (Opens in a new window)and CNN(Opens in a new window), full of legal bluster. The missives demand they “retract and apologize” the reporting for “false,” “defamatory,” and “unpatriotic” reporting, First Amendment be damned!

The Fourth Estate is more functional than Biglaw(Opens in a new window), so in the face of these threats, the outlets responded with stinging rebukes.

David McCraw, the lawyer for the Times replied(Opens in a new window), “No retraction is needed.” He continued, “No apology will be forthcoming. We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”"