America has mastered arguing over audio clips in the last decade. From “Yanny vs. Laurel” to whatever Cardi B just yelled, public opinions now depend on shaky videos and phone recordings. The latest instalment: Donald Trump vs. phonetics.
Last week on Air Force One, Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey tried to ask the president a question about the Epstein files. She barely got through half a sentence (what she managed to say was “If there’s nothing incriminating in the files, sir, why not…”), and that’s when Donald Trump snapped and delivered the now-viral line, “Quiet! Quiet, piggy.”
Critics called it demeaning and misogynistic. Meanwhile, MAGA X (formerly known as Twitter) launched into forensic linguistics mode. Suddenly, .every account with an eagle avatar and #1776 in its bio was convinced that Donald Trump never said ‘piggy’. They insisted he said, “Quiet, Peggy.” Because why insult a reporter when you could call her by a different reporter’s name?
The message behind quiet, piggy was not subtle. It was a proclamation. I decide who speaks. I decide what truth is. I decide whose pain persists and whose gets erased. I decide what women are allowed to ask me. I decide which crimes survive and which get swallowed in smoke.… pic.twitter.com/wp8LEdFCsP
— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) November 18, 2025
Supporters tried to explain that Donald Trump was addressing Bloomberg’s DC bureau chief, Peggy Collins, not Lucey. One user very confidently wrote: “Her name is literally Peggy Collins, you dimwit.” Another declared, “Left-brain people hear ‘Quiet Piggy.’ Right-brain people hear ‘Quiet Peggy.’” A third chimed in: “‘Quiet Piggy!’ would be epic, but unfortunately, Trump said ‘Peggy.’” Even Elon Musk’s AI assistant, Grok, initially backed “Peggy” — before switching sides when the audio said otherwise.
But there’s one problem with this defense, and that was what the internet dragged in. Turns out Peggy Collins wasn’t even on the plane. And yeah, someone even tracked flight logs to confirm that. Texas political candidate Sara McGee added to the discourse after one Peggy theorist blocked her: “He blocked me because my presentation of facts hurt his feelings.”
And while the conspiracy theorists argued about vowel sounds, the White House stayed consistent as usual. During a November 20 briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Donald Trump, and she had nothing to say about the choice of words either. “The president is very frank,” she said, and added that the voters love him for it. No official source backed the Peggy explanation. The defense was that he meant what he meant, and you should have expected it because it is Donald Trump after all.
Frankly, Karoline Leavitt is just paid to fabricate lies to the American people. Here she tries to normalize her classless boss calling a woman a “PIG”, excusing it as Trump just being “frank”.
Good Friday Quiet Piggy Peggy pic.twitter.com/cLNfRUWdtx
— SM (@sensiblemiddle) November 21, 2025
RELATED: Karoline Leavitt Defends Trump’s Controversial “Piggy” Remark – “President is Very Frank and Honest”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg has publicly backed its employee Lucey and also reminded everyone that journalists ask questions because that’s their job and don’t deserve to be insulted while questioning the president of all people. Now, with clearer audio circulating, even the internet has given up the “Peggy” defense.
