President Donald Trump cut off a reporter who was asking him about the Jeffrey Epstein files, telling her 'quiet, piggy.'

Aboard Air Force One en route to Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 14, Trump held a press gaggle to answer reporters' questions.

"Mr. President, what did Jeffrey Epstein mean in his emails when he said you 'knew about the girls?'" one reporter, just off camera, asked the president.

"I know nothing about that. They would've announced that a long time ago," Trump replied, going on to raise questions about Epstein's relationship with Bill Clinton and Larry Summers. "Jeffrey Epstein and I had a very bad relationship for many years."

Trump then called on a different reporter for the next question, but the first reporter kept talking with a follow-up question about anything incriminating in the files. Trump scolded her, pointing a finger toward her and leaning in as he said:

"Quiet! Quiet, piggy."

Watch: Video shows Trump tell reporter 'quiet, piggy.'

Who did Trump call piggy? It wasn't Jennifer Jacobs of CBS

Jennifer Jacobs, a CBS News White House reporter, was also part of the gaggle, per her social media posts. Video of the gaggle shows Trump calling on a "Jennifer" for a question shortly before turning to the other reporter and telling her, "quiet, piggy."

Jacobs' social media post says the other reporter Trump was addressing when he said “quiet, piggy” works at Bloomberg.

USA TODAY has reached out to Bloomberg for this story.

What did Epstein's emails say about Donald Trump?

The House Oversight Committee released thousands of pages of documents from the Epstein estate on Nov. 12. The House Democrats started the day pointing to emails from Epstein where he alleges Trump "knew about the girls," and another saying Trump spent hours with one of the victims.

The release came as Congress reconvened to reopen the government, and a bipartisan effort to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files gained enough signatures.

"These emails prove absolutely nothing other than that President Trump did nothing wrong,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a Nov. 12 press briefing. Trump also took to Truth Social to call the controversy, as he has before, a hoax.

“The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” Trump said. “Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”

In a surprising turn, Trump said on Nov. 16 that the House Republicans should vote to release the files. The vote is expected to take place on Nov. 18.

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Bluesky and TikTok.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Quiet piggy!' Watch Trump scold reporter over Epstein question in viral video

Reporting by Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect