Who is Catherine Lucey? Trump slammed over referring to Bloomberg reporter as “Piggy”

President Donald Trump is being criticized after he trashed Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey in what was supposed to be a press gaggle on Air Force One. The controversial exchange quickly went viral on social media, eliciting sharp criticism from journalists and public figures.

The conversation began after Lucey asked President Trump about the records dump of Jeffrey Epstein-related emails.

She continued interviewing Trump about why he hadn’t released all of the Epstein case files earlier, to which Trump abruptly stopped her and said: “This one,” pointing towards her, “Quiet, Piggy,” a statement that astonished other reporters and prompted swift online backlash.

Catherine Lucey is a very well-regarded reporter among political journalists. With over 20 years of experience, she has had an impressive career covering national politics, White House Administrations and large policy issues. Lucey has been a lead reporter with several publications, including at Bloomberg where she joined about a year ago.

She also was a White House correspondent for both The Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press, responsible for covering many presidencies as well as national political campaigns.

Early in her career, she covered the Iowa state government related news for the AP, and she was a city politics reporter at the Philadelphia Daily News. She started at the Associated Press in 2001, according to herLinkedIn profile.

A White House official responds to clarify Donald Trump's statement against Catherine Lucey

According to reports, a White House official later privately sought to defend the president’s reaction, saying that Catherine Lucey had been “inappropriate and unprofessional” with colleagues aboard the flight.

"Behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues on the plane. If you're going to give it, you have to be able to take," a White House official told Daily Mail.

Media figures from across networks condemned Trump's language, with CNN host Jake Tapper calling the comment "disgusting," and Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson saying it was "degrading."

This wasn’t the first occasion when the president had found himself at odds with Catherine Lucey. Days before at an event at the White House, Trump scolded her after she asked about Tucker Carlson’s interview with provocateur Nick Fuentes. “You’re the worst,” he said, “I don’t even know what they need you for.” Lucey has not publicly reacted to either comment.

The timing of Trump’s insult further fueled the controversy since it came just as the House voted for the Justice Department to release any other files in the Epstein case. The president has come under renewed scrutiny over his past ties to Epstein and has urged Republicans to get behind the release of the documents.