White House claims Trump's 'piggy' insult to reporters shows he's 'respectful' by being 'honest to your faces'

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has broken her silence regarding President Trump’s insult to a reporter, as she defended his decision to call the female journalist ‘Piggy’.

During Thursday’s press briefing, Leavitt addressed the viral moment which occurred on November 14, when Trump was asked by Bloomberg correspondent Catherine Lucey about the Epstein files.

In his response, Trump explained her had a “bad relationship” with Jeffrey Epstein, prompting a follow-up from Lucey as she asked: "Sir, if there's nothing incriminating in the files..."

She was, however, immediately cut off by the president, who brutally declared: "Quiet. Quiet, Piggy,” before moving on to another question.

At the time, the comment earned widespread condemnation from critics, but Leavitt has since tried to put a positive spin on the brutal remark, as she said it was actually Trump’s way of being ‘respectful.’

"Look, the president is very frank & honest with everyone in this room," she said. "You've all seen it yourselves. You've all experienced it yourselves. And I think it's one of the many reasons the American people reelected this president, because of his frankness.

"He calls out fake news when he sees it. He gets frustrated with reporters when you lie about him, when you spread fake news about him and his administration," she continued.

"But he also is the most transparent president in history, and he gives all of you in this room, as you all know, unprecedented access. You are in the Oval Office almost every day, asking the president questions.

"And so 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 would lie to your face and then didn't speak to you for weeks," Leavitt said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defend the controversial comment ( Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"I think everyone in this room should appreciate the frankness and the openness that you get from President Trump on a near-daily basis."

Leavitt’s comments also come just one day after the White House slammed Lucey for her question as it branded her behaviour 'inappropriate'.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the White House said: “This reporter 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.”

They didn’t, however, give any reasons as to why her question had been deemed inappropriate and unprofessional.