Bill Maher was left stunned after Lara Trump refused to admit that her father-in-law called a female journalist “piggy” in a recent exchange aboard Air Force One that sparked widespread backlash.
President Donald Trump was speaking with reporters on Nov. 14 when Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey questioned him about the Epstein files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Quiet, quiet, piggy,” he shot back, pointing his finger at her.
During Monday’s episode of Maher’s “Club Random” podcast, the comedian argued that Trump’s inflammatory remarks like the “piggy” insult has made it more challenging for him to convince liberals to interact with conservatives more, particularly around the holiday season.
Maher made the comment after he brought up earlier in the show that he’s writing an editorial on how the left wing and GOP can bury the hatchet and come together to spend time with their family members during the holidays — even if they have opposing political beliefs.
“Don’t do things like call a woman, ‘piggy,’” he said of the right-wing leader.
“Do we know that happened?” Lara, the wife of Eric Trump, quickly fired back.
Maher exclaimed, “I saw it on tape! A thousand [times].”
“Or did he say McGee?” Lara questioned with a laugh as Maher bemoaned her response.
Despite widespread records of the incident, the former Republican National Committee co-chair tried to underplay Trump’s pattern of attacking the press, claiming he is “an equal opportunity offender.” Lara then referenced Trump’s criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mentioning his editorial again, Maher declared that although it’s centered on “mostly liberals” who need to “get over yourselves” to enjoy dinner with their families, Trump’s contentious discourse doesn’t make things easier.
Lara Trump (right) laughed off Bill Maher’s concerns about President Trump’s controversial “quiet piggy” remark to a female reporter.
“Here I am working on this editorial for Friday all about how it’s mostly liberals who have to get over yourselves, eat with your families, even the ones who are Trump voters,” Maher explained. “It just makes my job more difficult … when he says to a woman ‘piggy.’”
The political commentator added: “Even you must admit this is just not cool, not necessary.”
“Donald Trump is not perfect,” Lara told Maher. “But he does a lot of things that I think are great. And I think that overall you got to take some of the good with the bad.”
Last week, the White House defended Trump’s verbal abuse aimed at Lucey while slamming the reporter.
“This reporter behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way toward her colleagues on the plane,” an official said in a statement. “If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take.”
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt argued that journalists should be thankful to have a “frank” and “honest” president like Trump who hurls insults straight to their faces. She also called out former President Joe Biden as a liar.
“I think the president being frank and open and honest to your faces rather than hiding behind your backs is, frankly, a lot more respectful than what you saw in the last administration, where you had a president who lied to your faces and didn’t speak to you for weeks,” she said.
Leavitt also tossed the blame on “fake news” reporters for enraging the president.
“He calls out fake news when he sees it,” she added. “He gets frustrated with reporters when you lie about him, when you spread fake news about him and his administration.”
Watch Maher’s “Club Random” podcast below.