Hunter Biden had a question for the White House press corps over their in-the-moment reactions—or lack thereof—to the insults and slurs flung by MAGA Republican President Donald Trump at journalists, mostly women and especially Black women.
Biden appeared on The Jim Acosta Show alongside former CNN White House correspondent Acosta and contributing editor for Mediaite and former White House correspondent for AOL and The Daily Banter Tommy Christopher. The trio discussed the double standards surrounding Trump in both how he behaves and how the press approaches him and covers his words and actions.
At one point, Biden addressed Acosta and recounted:
"He turned to a reporter with your former colleagues, Jim, on the plane and said, 'Quiet, Piggy.'"
In November of 2025 on Air Force One, Trump snapped at Bloomberg correspondent Catherine Lucey over questions about his longtime friend Jeffrey Epstein and the files the Trump administration had just been directed to release via passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) by Congress—a bill that Trump would sign into law the next day.
After the incident went public, Trump was widely condemned for his unacceptable, unpresidential behavior, both domestically and internationally. But as it was happening, seemingly no one reacted.
Biden then asked:
"Why is it that none of your former colleagues turned to him and said, 'Go f*ck yourself, Mr. President'?"
After Biden noted his father, former Democratic President Joe Biden, had told him to "stop cussing," Acosta—who was not on the plane at the time of the incident—agreed with the younger Biden's dismay over Trump's treatment of the press and his former colleagues' reactions.
You can watch the moment here:
Acosta responded:
"I've come close to saying that, Hunter. I will tell you that I think it's one of the most depressing things that I've seen in my entire career."
Acosta continued:
"The way that some in the press have just rolled over for him and they won't stand up to him. And you know, I did [react] maybe too much. I don't know, maybe people think it was the right amount, but I did it so much that now I'm here and now I'm no longer at my old place, as I like to call it."
"But I like being here because now I can do what I want to do. But if I were on Air Force One and Donald Trump had called one of my colleagues piggy, I don't know if I would have been able to contain myself."
"I probably would have said 'go f*ck yourself.' I certainly would have said 'that's not appropriate. Please take that back. This person is a good reporter and also a good person and you're not.'
"I mean that's what somebody needs to say to him. But he does it over and over and over again."
After Acosta added things were light years better with both former Democratic President Barack Obama and the elder Biden, Hunter Biden added:
"I don't have any problem with anybody having a caustic relationship with the press. There's a difference between that and dehumanizing people. There's a difference between that and calling a woman in front of her colleagues, with no power to respond to you, 'piggy.'"
Biden said:
"If that isn't an example of what a low class piece of sh*t—who does that‽ Who speaks to anybody that way publicly? Particularly without provocation other than being asked a hard question, doing their job."
People agreed that there was a clear double standard in how past Presidents were treated versus what Trump is able to get away with.
They also provided their own theories for why that double standard exists.
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During Trump's first term, Acosta himself was banned from the White House after pushing back against lies and rhetoric.
In November of 2025, the White House banned the Associated Press, citing "editorial viewpoint."
The Trump administration has also used the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to threaten the parent companies of NBC, ABC, and CBS over Trump's press coverage.
