Donald Trump recently pointed at Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One and snarled, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.” The insult came after she asked a follow-up question about Jeffrey Epstein’s files, a chillingly symbolic moment, but… not exactly shocking coming from a man who’s repeatedly demeaned women in public.
When Lucey asked why Trump wouldn’t release Epstein’s files if there was nothing incriminating in them, he cut in like a bratty child and dropped that “insult.” The intention was certainly to demean, and whether it was the result of a elderly man on the edge of dementia forgetting the concept of decorum, or a coldly calculated move to distract from Lucey’s pointed question is kinda beside the point. That’s especially true when you consider Trump’s long documented history of gender based insults. Calling women “piggy,” “dog,” “loser,” or worse, especially when they dare to ask real questions.
That’s exactly why former federal prosecutor and current professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, Joyce Vance argued in her Substack Civil Discourse that Miss Piggy, the glamorous, sassy Muppet diva with a noteworthy karate chop, deserves a spot in our resistance imagery.
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Vance subversively calls on women to reclaim Miss Piggy as their own symbol. Yes, Miss Piggy, the diva piguette. Not because she’s meek or delicate, but because she’s exactly the opposite: glamorous, self-assured, and all too happy to stand up for her self when she’s crossed. Vance writes:
Portland has reclaimed the frog as a symbol of its resistance to Trump’s efforts to militarize the city. Perhaps women should claim the glamorous, sassy Muppet Miss Piggy, a known diva with a fierce karate chop, as their own symbol. Call a woman a piggy, and see how that goes for you, Mr. President. Enough demeaning of women. Signing the Epstein Files bill when it hits his desk, which Trump has promised to do, won’t be enough. The files have to be released, no excuses. It’s time to emulate the great Miss Piggy, who has never stayed quiet in the face of those who don’t respect her.
If you raise an eyebrow at a Muppet as a feminist figure, well, you don’t know Miss Piggy, the OG diva. Since the 1970s, she’s been unapologetic, ambitious, and ferociously self-confident. In 2015, she even received a feminist award from the Sackler Center for Feminist Art, and her acceptance speech was a 10/10. Miss Piggy defended her feminism, saying that a woman who cares about her star billing, appearance, and success is a feminist. As The Washington Post put it, her “wild, voracious sort of freedom” and her refusal to conform is an “unruly, defiantly unrespectable feminist act.”
Trump’s “quiet, piggy” isn’t just another insult. It’s emblematic of a larger problem: powerful men trying to silence women who press for accountability. But Vance’s call, that we channel Miss Piggy instead of shrinking in response, flips the insult on its head.
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This isn’t about politeness. It’s about standing up, with humor and strength, to someone who thinks demeaning a woman is a power move.
If Trump thinks calling a woman “piggy” is clever, let him meet the real Miss Piggy — and every woman who refuses to be silenced.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].