THE WAR ON WOMEN
Trump & Vance Target Women — Especially Women Who Ask Hard Questions
Ben Cable (crossposted on Substack)
Dec 22, 2025
From the White House press pit to Truth Social, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are weaponizing misogyny, and women journalists are on the front lines.
If you think political attacks are just heat and noise, think again. This isn’t political banter; it’s a pattern of gendered hostility. Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump hasn’t just disputed reporters; he’s demeaned, insulted, and degraded women who hold power to account. And J.D. Vance? He hasn’t condemned it. He’s normalized it.
Let’s look at the actual words and behavior — the kind that should make any democracy-lover shudder.
🔥 1) ‘Quiet, piggy!’ — Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey
While traveling on Air Force One in November 2025, Trump snapped at a Bloomberg News correspondent who asked about the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, proclaiming: “Quiet, piggy!” — a remark that instantly went viral. According to media reports, his office later defended the insult as “frankness.”
🔥 2) ‘Are you stupid?’ — CBS’s Nancy Cordes
On Thanksgiving week 2025, CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes asked Trump why he blamed the Biden administration for a national security failure. Trump shot back: “Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?” — a personal insult to a seasoned journalist doing her job.
🔥 3) ‘Ugly… both inside and out’ — NYT’s Katie Rogers
In late November 2025, Trump took to Truth Social to blast a New York Times reporter who co-authored a story about his age and stamina, calling her “a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.”
🔥 4) ‘Terrible’ and ‘obnoxious’ — ABC’s Rachel Scott
During a White House roundtable, Trump snarled at ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott, calling her “obnoxious” and “a terrible reporter” after she pressed him on a controversial military strike.
🔥 5) ‘Terrible reporter’ — ABC’s Mary Bruce
On another occasion in November 2025, when ABC’s Mary Bruce questioned Trump about the CIA’s conclusion that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump attacked her question as “horrible… and just a terrible question,” and labeled her a “terrible reporter.”
🔥 6) Mocking CNN’s Kaitlan Collins
Trump has also attacked CNN’s chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins on social media, calling her questions “stupid” and railing against her coverage as fake news worthy of ridicule.
This Isn’t a Few Bad Tweets — It’s a Pattern
Seen together, these aren’t isolated exchanges. In just the past few months, Trump has:
- Told multiple women to be “quiet” with demeaning language.
- Insulted their intelligence and appearance publicly.
- Labeled respected national reporters “terrible” or “obnoxious.”
Meanwhile, J.D. Vance has sat in lockstep, echoing an authoritarian disdain for scrutiny while repackaging age-old misogyny in policy speeches and cultural commentary, rather than openly rebuking it.
WHY THIS MATTERS — BEYOND THE TABLOID SCREAMS
For women journalists, these aren’t just words — they are amplifiers of real-world harassment.
When a sitting president calls women “piggy,” “stupid,” or “ugly,” it does more than score cheap political points. It:
- Reinforces sexist tropes that women are less credible than men;
- Encourages online mobbing and threats against women in the public eye;
- Signals that female voices aren’t just opponents — they’re targets.
And this is no accident.
Political communication experts note that attacking journalists (especially women) isn’t just impulsive, it’s strategic intimidation. It chills tough questions, erodes trust in independent reporting, and shifts the conversation from issues to personal attacks.
WHAT WOMEN IN THE PRESS ARE ACTUALLY SAYING
After one of Trump’s recent tirades, MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace described the wave of insults as “verbal violence” that shouldn’t be normalized, urging the press corps to push back rather than shrug it off.
Because make no mistake: when misogyny is normalized at the top, it trickles down, and it isn’t journalists who pay the only price.
It’s society. It is ALL of us.
BOTTOM LINE: THIS IS NOT NORMAL
This isn’t just a personality flaw. It’s a political strategy — and it serves a dual purpose:
- It delegitimizes the press, especially women who press power.
- It reinforces a worldview where women who speak out are belittled rather than respected.
Donald Trump isn’t just lashing out at reporters; he’s leveraging gendered insults as a weapon. And with J.D. Vance echoing and enabling that tone, it’s clear the targets won’t stop at journalists. Women’s voices in politics, public life, and power are on the line.
Citizen Ben says:
We should call this for what it is, not tabloid tantrums, but systemic gendered attacks by powerful men who fear scrutiny more than democracy.
Stand with women journalists. Demand better. And don’t let them normalize this.
Join: The Free America Walkout 50501, in partnership with Women’s March, will be on January 20, 2026, at 2 PM local time Nationwide. “Walking away from authoritarianism”.
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