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Jonathan Swan | |
|---|---|
 Swan in 2018 | |
| Born | (1985-08-07)August 7, 1985 (age 40) Sydney,New South Wales, Australia |
| Citizenship |
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| Occupation | Journalist |
| Employer | The New York Times |
| Spouse | Betsy Woodruff |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
Jonathan Swan (born August 7, 1985) is anAustralian-American investigative journalist atThe New York Times.[1] He is best known for his 2020Emmy-winning interview with then-US presidentDonald Trump.
Swan interviewed Trump in 2020 amid theCOVID-19 pandemic. He was praised for fact-checking Trump'sfalsehoods and constantly challenging his remarks, which, according to journalists, exposed the President as unprepared. His stunned facial expressions made in response to Trump's statements became a viralinternet meme.
Jonathan Swan was born on August 7, 1985,[2] the eldest child of Lee Sutton and health reporter[3]Norman Swan.[4] Raised inSydney,New South Wales,[4] he grew up in a "very liberal"Reform Jewish household enrolled in theEmanuel Synagogue.[5]
At age 25, Swan entered into journalism, covering politics forThe Sydney Morning Herald.[6] Around this time, he also worked forThe Age.[7] Swan became known for hisscoops—most notably, his revelations onparliamentarians abusing taxpayer funds as well as his unearthing a video of asenator hurling kangaroo feces at his brother.[3][8] In 2014,[6][8] as part of a fellowship with theAmerican Political Science Association, Swan emigrated to the United States to work as acongressional aide atWashington, D.C.[6][9] American politics intrigued him, and he had long aspired to venture into American journalism.[9] After approaching several national media outlets,The Hill hired him.[8]
Swan began reporting on politics atThe Hill in 2015.[9] A year later, he joinedAxios shortly before the company's founding,[10] and it is atAxios that his career "accelerated."[6]
As a national political correspondent, Swan coveredTrump's first administration from 2017 through 2021.[10][11] He was the first to reveal theUnited States' initial withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement,[8] theUS recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the firing ofWhite House chief strategistSteve Bannon.[6] Contemporary journalists regarded Swan's reporting as key toAxios's rise to prominence.[6][8]
Swan's reports had made him a rising influence in the journalistic scene,[6][8] but his efforts did rouse controversy. Some commentators accused him of favoring "access over accountability"[3][8] in light of his refusal to strongly challenge the White House's actions[8] and the lack of depth in his articles, with the one detailing the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital being just 55 words long.[6][a] His paid speaking engagements, earning him as much as $25,000 per speech,[6] also attracted criticism.[8] In September 2018, Swan reported thatDeputy Attorney GeneralRod Rosenstein had resigned, which caused a stir in the media. However, the report was false. This damagedAxios's reputation, which had already been questioned owing to their articles's perceived shallowness.[8]
Swan interviewed Trump in October 2018.[12] In one preview clip, Trump revealed that he was planning to endbirthright citizenship in the US,[6][8] aconstitutionally protected right.[6] Swan did not challenge the President's claims, some of which were untrue;[6][8] for example, when Trump falsely declared that no other country had birthright citizenship, Swan said nothing in response.[6] Commentators also pointed out that Swan appeared gleeful and overexcited.[8][12]
Swan faced stern backlash.[6][8] Journalists variously described the interview as "the ne plus ultra of media toadying"[8] and "less a news story than … a press release."[6] It only worsened Swan andAxios's reputation of favoring access over accountability.[3][8] Conversely, veteran journalistBob Woodward argued that he was not soft—he was "tough but fair."[6] Swan later regretted his performance.[8][11]
What I was trying to get him to do was grapple with the question of why.
— Swan on his approach to interviewing Trump in 2020[12]
Two years later, Swan interviewed Trump again. It lasted 38 minutes[13] and aired onAxios'sHBO series on August 3, 2020.[12][13] The US was then engulfed in apandemic that had killed upward of 100,000 Americans[14] as well asnationwide protests over themurder of George Floyd.[15] This time, Swan's approach was more critical.[11] Throughout the interview, he pointedly challenged and called out the President'sfalse and misleading statements.[11][12][16] When Trump, for example, described COVID-19 as being "under control," Swan responded, "How? A thousand Americans are dying a day."[17]
According to commentators, Swan managed to challenge Trump by deploying an aggressive line of follow-up questions.[11][18][19] When Trump ambiguously said, "people say...", Swan replied, "Which people?".[20] The President often could not answer such questions.[19]Daniel Dale ofCNN wrote that, in his interviews, Trump would state one false claim after the other in a "hit-and-run" strategy, and interviewers would generally let them pass. However, Swan kept asking "how?", "what?", and "who?", which thwarted Trump's strategy.[18] The journalistDavid Brody asserted that while Trump often dominated interviews by "commandeering" them, Swan humbled him.[12] This left Trump stumbling through responses as he appeared baffled and unprepared.[17][20]
Swan was also noted for his facial expressions made in reaction to some of Trump's claims. They shifted between confusion, fury, bemusement, and bewilderment.[11][20] Beyond the pandemic, commentators pointed out that Swan exposed the President's unwillingness to praise the recently deceased civil rights activistJohn Lewis[19] as well as his doubling down on "wish[ing] [Ghislaine Maxwell] well" after her arrest for abettingchild prostitution.[17][21] The interview was widely praised,[3][12][16] with commentators noting Swan's efforts at fact-checking Trump.[16][20] His approach, they argued, ensured that the President was kept accountable.[11][20][22] In 2021,Axios was awarded anEmmy Award for Best Edited Interview.[10] The interview also became a media and internet sensation,[16][20] and Swan's stunned facial expressions became a viralinternet meme.[3][11][20]
Shortly before the2020 presidential election between incumbment president Trump andJoe Biden, Swan revealed what he understood as Trump's plans to claim victory regardless of the outcome,[23] forming part of his wider plan tooverturn the results.[24] A few months later, he documented the President's plan and efforts in a nine-part[b] series titled "Off the Rails".[c] The series won Swan the 2022White House Correspondents' Association'sAldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage.[26]
In January 2023, after six years reporting forAxios, Swan joinedThe New York Times, where he focuses oncongressional Republicans.[27]
Swan is married to fellow reporter Betsy Woodruff ofPolitico;[11] they have two children.[11][28] He became anAmerican citizen in 2024.[29]
In 2019, it was revealed thatAxios, suffering backlash against Swan's first interview withDonald Trump, had paid a journalist to improve its reputation bylobbying for changes to theWikipedia articles onAxios and Swan. He pushed for promotional material to be included, such as an "Awards and Honors" section, and recommended that controversies related to Swan be whitewashed.[30]