President Donald Trump recently used the “piggy” comment against a reporter, unintentionally alluding to his 1987 feud. For those unfamiliar, during his rise in real estate, Trump and Democratic mayor Ed Koch clashed over the former’s vision for a new complex in New York City. Their disagreement over the project sparked a series of harsh letters and nasty public remarks from both sides.
Donald Trump received ‘Piggy’ comment back in 1987
On November 14, Trump made a shocking comment to Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey aboard Air Force One, the same insult Koch had once used against him in 1987. Lucey asked Trump a topical question about his ties with Jeffrey Epstein. As he pointed a finger in her direction, he replied, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”
A similar comment was made by Koch back in 1987, when he feuded with Trump over New York City’s new complex project. Back in the day, Trump had a vision for New York City’s Upper West Side; he wanted to build a complex called “Television City.” He wished that this complex could become NBC’s headquarters in the future. As this ambitious project required significant tax abatements, it wasn’t received well by the public, causing protests.
Koch didn’t support Trump’s plans, believing the tax abatements he requested were three times higher than anything the city had ever granted and a waste of public money. Trump, however, argued that the abatements were necessary to keep NBC in the city. Due to a clash of opinions, they traded harsh words with each other. Koch responded to Trump’s verbal attacks with “greedy, greedy, greedy. If Donald Trump is squealing like a stuck pig, I must have done something right. Common sense does not allow me to give away the city’s treasury to Donald Trump,” as reported by The New York Times.
Furthermore, The Philadelphia Inquirer also reported that Koch at one point also referred to Trump as “piggy, piggy, piggy, piggy Donald Trump.” Nevertheless, Trump’s ambitious plans for the complex never materialized.
Originally reported by Shazmeen Navrange on Mandatory.
