He called one a ‘piggy’ after being questioned about the files, and reacted furiously to another during a meeting with the Saudi crown prince

Since the early days of his political career, Donald Trump has been critical of the media, but in recent days his hostility has reached a new peak – particularly when it comes to questions about his association with the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump invoked the phrase “piggy” – a term he has used before – to describe a female reporter on Friday, and has aggressively responded to at least one other female reporter over the past week, including threatening to revoke ABC’s license.

The outbursts come at a tense time for Trump, after the Republican party issued arguably its largest rebuke to the president since he cemented his position as the GOP leader. With as many as 100 House Republicans had been expected to defy Trump in voting to release the Epstein file, Trump was forced into a humiliating U-turn on the subject last weekend.