
A senior official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development with close ties to the Trump family attacked reporter April Ryan, and referred to her as "Miss Piggy."

An official at Donald Trump's Department of Housing & Urban Development attacked veteran White House reporter April Ryan, describing her as "Miss Piggy."

The tweet came from Lynne Patton, who heads New York's federal housing office.

She deleted the tweet, but it was captured in a screenshot by several people on Twitter.


In addition to a picture of Ryan, Patton wrote, "I hear #MissPiggys still on a rampage. Gee, I must've struck a nerbe, @AprilDRyan."

This person works for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and grossly attacked April Ryan. pic.twitter.com/fTlHljhKrw — Matt Ortega (@MattOrtega) January 25, 2018

After she was caught in the smear, Patton tweeted, "I deleted my last tweet by choice. No one from this Administration contacted me. It was beneath me & I apologize to @AprilDRyan. My parents raised me to respect others & I regret my response. I apologize to them, @SecretaryCarson & the Trump family. They deserved better."

The Trump administration has repeatedly targeted Ryan, a black woman who is the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks.

Ryan recently revealed that, after questioning Trump and seeking comment on some of his racist comments, she was attacked by the pro-Trump Fox News, with horrifying effects.

"Ive been getting death threats just for asking a question," she stated.

Patton was promoted last year to her position, after serving as a senior adviser to HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Before that, she worked as a party planner for Eric Trump, and served on Trump's presidential campaign.

When she was first given her job by Trump, Politico noted that she "tried to juice her own news release, claiming experience she didnt have."

The outburst from a member of the administration, with such a far-flung portfolio, shows the rotten mindset and vulgar personality types that the Trump team has installed in the government, handing out positions to their cronies and flunkies, rather than officials with experience needed to run the United States government  and without any sense of basic decency or decorum.