U.S. President Donald Trump attends a ceremony marking the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States at the Pentagon, in Washington D.C., U.S., September 11, 2025. REUTERS Evelyn Hockstein
Trump has always been “abusive, rude, petulant, unprofessional and undignified,” says Salon White House columnist Brian Karem. But this week, the world got to see him “at a new low.”
“He said ‘Quiet, piggy’ mere inches from the face of a female journalist in a gaggle of reporters on Air Force One,” said Karem. “No other reporter addressed this insult. Members of the traveling press pool just went on asking questions as if this were normal, acceptable behavior.”
“This week’s low-water mark,” said Karem, “showed Trump not only has no dignity, decency, honor or sense,” but he is so childlike as to be laughable.
“How can you even satirize his actions? No adult treats any other adult that way unless they’ve lost their mental faculties or never had them. Instead of acting like an adult, he acted like a child sticking out his tongue,” said Karem, adding that the bad behavior only complimented the travesty of Trump groveling before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who visited the Oval Office Tuesday.
ABC’s Mary Bruce asked Trump a question about bin Salman’s involvement in the death of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi, and then she asked him about the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Trump called her company “fake news” and said he had a problem with the way she asked her questions. He even called her insubordinate.
“Tough,” Karem said. “If you can call a reporter ‘piggy,’ then you can take a hard question that you don’t like. … [and] Bruce isn’t his subordinate. She doesn’t work for him. She is a member of the public. Trump is a temp worker voted into office by the public. If anyone was insubordinate it was President Trump. He is a public servant, and as such is required to serve the public. You don’t admonish the American public while praising a foreign prince — especially not one who is an international pariah with a well-known violent nature.”
But Karem said Trump doesn’t challenge bin Salman for one simple reason: “The president would love to be able to get away with the very behavior the crown prince does. With bin Salman seated next to him, Trump felt the courage to lean into his performance a bit. He playfully slapped at him, and they smiled and giggled like the best of friends.”
“Worse, Trump said ‘things happen,’ when describing Khashoggi’s cold-hearted murder, dismemberment and incineration,” said Karem. “Despite the fact that the CIA during his first administration concluded that bin Salman orchestrated the killing, Trump assured us that wasn’t the case. ‘He knew nothing,’ Trump said flatly.”
Later, Karem said Trump “channeled bin Salman” when he reacted to a group of Congressional lawmakers reminding military and intelligence personnel in a PSA that they must refuse to follow illegal orders. The president, on Truth Social, accused the Democrats of engaging in “seditious behavior punishable by DEATH.” He then reposted comments calling them “traitors” and saying they should be jailed or hanged.
“Trump is unraveling,” said Karem. “His failures are mounting and frightening the rest of the world, giving our closest allies cause for concern.”
Canada is reassessing its relationship with the United States, as is the United Kingdom. But Trump doesn’t care, said Karem, just like he doesn’t care that Democrats had to reach out to the House Sergeant at Arms and the United States Capitol Police to ensure the safety of themselves and their families after Trump called for their execution.
“There’s every indication that he is incapable of any such empathy. He wants to be a dictator like bin Salman, who radiates anger and power with the slickness of a grifter. You can see it in his eyes,” Karem said. “Trump’s eyes are empty. They are fearful and often angry. He once aspired to be like bin Salman. Now he’s just an angry old man who calls reporters ‘piggy.’”
Read the Salon article at this link.