Quiet piggy: ‘Trump finds the easiest response is to shame women into silence’

Read time: 4 mins

In brief…

• Donald Trump has verbally abused two reporters over questions on the release of the Epstein Files in the past week, showing clearly what he thinks of women, and being under any real scrutiny for his own actions.
• The News Agents say Trump will go immediately to insults when he’s not getting his way, and his recent outbursts are blatant attempts to “silence” women who have questioned him.
• His mood, Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel say, is likely affected by the upcoming release of the Epstein Files, and possible loss of control over his own MAGA movement, as key players position themselves for roles after he leaves the White House.

What’s the story?

"Donald Trump is in a stew," says Jon Sopel.

You don't need to be an experienced journalist to know this, however. You only need to see how he's spoken to two (female) reporters in the past 24 hours.

One, he called "piggy", the other was accused of being a "terrible person" – both insults confidently delivered in front of TV cameras.

The latter came after Congress voted, overwhelmingly, to release the Epstein Files, testimony and accounts from victims of the convicted sex-trafficker collected in early attempts to prosecute Jeffrey Epstein.

"Trump's whole position in this is looking frankly, euphemistically awkward," says Emily Maitlis.

Donald Trump says he supports calls for the release of The Epstein Files - an abrupt shift in stance considering less than a week ago he was calling Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene a "traitor" for her calls for them to be made public, with the president continuing to claim they were nothing but a Democrat hoax.

“Donald Trump has taken an absolute pounding on this issue because he wanted it to be stopped," Jon says.

"He's now, of course, saying he's totally relaxed about it – but it's also a Democratic con job."

‘Nobody has more respect for women than me’ (Donald Trump, 2016)

The "quiet piggy" incident took place on Air Force One Friday 14 November 2025, and was a response to a female correspondent who asked about his then-resistance to releasing the Epstein Files.

"At the heart of what he's trying to do there is silence her," says Emily.

"He's silencing the journalist by making her feel humiliated and unable to come back.

"He's trying to silence the question because he doesn't like this repeated attempt by journalists to actually get to the bottom of why he's so disinclined to see those Epstein files."

When he's under pressure, she adds, Trump goes straight for an insult instead of trying to form an argument.

The "terrible person" comment took place on Tuesday 18 November inside The White House, and came during a press event with Mohammed bin Salman, Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia.

Emily says his comments in The White House were defensive, angry and “lacking any kind of sort of political sophistication.”

"What he does is he shames," she says.

"He finds the easiest response is just to shame women into silence or hope that he's shaming women into silence."

Jon says the question asked of Trump in The White House – why wait for Congress to approve the release of Epstein Files when he had the power to approve it himself – was an "obvious" question to put to the president.

"It's not a gotcha question. It's not a rude question. It's a straightforward question," he says.

"We've had to wait for this law to get passed. We still don't know whether he's going to sign it or block it, or delay it.

"Donald Trump could have released the files any time and he chose not to.

It’s an utterly legitimate question, and it's an entirely illegitimate response to round on a reporter like that for asking a question."

Is MAGA leaving Trump behind?

The rift within Republicans over the Epstein Files has been the first time there has been a split among the MAGA crowd, with many of its loudest voices standing against the president on the issue.

The News Agents say it's common for leaders in their second-term to face suggestions of having become a "lame duck president" as eyes turn to future candidates to lead, but rarely does it come so soon into that term.

"The MAGA movement has gone against Trump," says Jon.

"It shows that people are starting to look beyond the midterms to who's running in 2028, and how do Republicans position themselves for that."

One MAGA Republican who's clearly on maneuvers is Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has rapidly repositioned herself as vocal opponent of the president on the Epstein Files, and apologised for her previous engagement with toxic politics that she is now critical of in Trump.

"Look, I'll put my hand up and say I like this new look Marjorie Taylor Greene," says Emily – who was once told to "fuck off" by Greene.

"I think she's on to something, and I think she's making sense  but I'd warn against assuming there was a kind of massive Damascene conversion going on."

Despite this, Emily describes her as a “very strong voice” in the MAGA Republican movement.

But while Greene, and a handful of others, are currently very loud, there’s someone at the very top of the MAGA pile who’s remarkably silent on Epstein – and that’s JD Vance.

"JD Vance is being quiet and Marjorie Taylor Green is being noisy – and it's two sides of the same coin," says Jon.

"They are both positioning for the future.

"They are both putting themselves in a distinct position to stake out if they are going to be players in 2028."

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.