Jonathan Swan
![]() |
Jonathan Swan | |
---|---|
![]() Swan in 2018 | |
Born | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | August 7, 1985
Citizenship |
|
Occupation | Journalist |
Employer | The New York Times |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Parents |
|
Jonathan V. Swan[a] (born August 7, 1985) is an Australian-American investigative journalist at The New York Times. He is best known for his scoops and his 2020 Emmy-winning interview with then-US president Donald Trump.
Swan interviewed Trump in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He was praised for fact-checking the Trump's falsehoods and constantly challenging his remarks, which, according to David Brinn, exposed the President as "woefully unprepared and unequipped with the facts."[1] His stunned facial expressions made in response to Trump's statements became a viral internet meme.
Early life and career
[edit]Jonathan Swan was born on August 7, 1985,[2] in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, the eldest child of Lee Sutton and health reporter Norman Swan.[3] He grew up in a "very liberal" Reform Jewish household enrolled in the Emanuel Synagogue. As a teenager, he did his bar mitzvah.[4] Swan was educated in his hometown,[5] and he later graduated from Sydney Grammar School.[6]
In 2010,[5] Swan's journalistic career began in writing for The Sydney Morning Herald.[7] Around this time, he also worked for The Age.[8] Swan became known for his scoops—most notably, his revelations on parliamentarians abusing taxpayer funds as well as his unearthing a video of a senator hurling kangaroo feces at his brother.[9]
In 2014, as part of a one-year visa with the American Political Science Association, Swan emigrated to the United States to work as a congressional aide at Washington, D.C.[10] He would decide to stay. Having followed US politics "obsessively" while in Australia, he aspired to break into American journalism.[11] Swan approached several media outlets, but was continually rejected before being hired by The Hill.[12]
United States career
[edit]Beginnings
[edit]Swan began reporting on politics at The Hill in August 2015.[11] There, he shed light on several Republican Party plots, including the Trump campaign's petitions of illegal donations from foreign individuals and Breitbart News' attempts to thwart House Speaker Paul Ryan's career.[13] In late 2016, he joined Axios shortly before the company's founding.[14] It is at Axios that Swan made his breakthrough in journalism.[7]
Donald Trump's first presidency
[edit]As a national political correspondent, Swan covered Trump's first administration from 2017 through 2021.[15] He was the first to reveal the United States' initial withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement,[12] the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the firing of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, and Paul Ryan's retirement.[7] Contemporary journalists regarded Swan's reporting as key to Axios' rise to prominence.[16]
Swan's reports had made him a rising influence in the journalistic scene,[17] but his efforts did rouse controversy. Some commentators accused him of favoring "access over accountability"[9] in light of his refusal to strongly challenge the White House's actions[12] 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.[7][b] His paid speaking engagements, earning him roughly $25,000 per speech,[7] also attracted criticism.[18] In September 2018, Swan reported that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had resigned, which caused a stir in the media. However, the report was false. This damaged Axios' reputation, which had already been questioned owing to their articles's perceived shallowness.[12]
First Trump interview (2018)
[edit]
Swan interviewed Trump in October 2018.[19] In one preview clip, Trump revealed that he was planning to end birthright citizenship in the US, a constitutionally-protected right.[16] He claimed that he could legally do so by altering the Constitution himself, which was untrue. Nevertheless, Swan did not correct him.[20] The President also falsely declared that no other country had birthright citizenship, and Swan, again, said nothing in response.[7] Commentators also pointed out that Swan appeared sprightly and cheery;[21] he chuckled,[22] grinned, and "bounce[d] in his chair with glee."[23]
Swan faced stern backlash, with one outlet even calling him a "bootlicker."[22] Some journalists noted that his attitude debased the profession of journalism as he seemingly placed discovering new media fodder above holding politicians accountable.[20] According to Sam Biddle of The Intercept, his interaction was a "revolting," "perverse amalgam of news, social media, entertainment, and the White House."[23] The interview only worsened Swan and Axios' reputation of favoring access over accountability.[24] Conversely, veteran journalist Bob Woodward argued that he was not soft—he was "tough but fair."[7] Three White House officials too praised his "fairness."[12] Swan regretted his performance,[12] and later admitted that it was "bad."[25]
Second Trump interview (2020)
[edit]Two years later, Swan interviewed Trump again. It lasted 38 minutes[26] and aired on Axios' HBO series on August 3, 2020.[27] The US was then engulfed in a pandemic that had killed upwards of 100,000 Americans as well as nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd.[28] This time, Swan's approach would be more critical.[25] During the interview, he pointedly challenged and called out the President's false and misleading statements in real time.[29] When Trump, for instance, described COVID-19 as being "under control," Swan responded, "How? A thousand Americans are dying a day."[30]
According to commentators, Swan's managed to challenge Trump by deploying an aggressive line of follow-up questions.[31] When Trump ambiguously said "people say…," Swan replied, "Which people?"[1] The President often could not answer such questions.[32] Daniel Dale of CNN wrote that, during 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.[33] Journalist David Brody asserts that while Trump often dominated interviews by "commandeering" them, Swan humbled him.[34] This left Trump stumbling through responses as he appeared baffled and unprepared.[35]

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.[36] When Swan insisted that the COVID-19 death tally needed to be considered as a percentage of population, and Trump replied, "You can't do that," Swan promptly "furrowed his brow; his mask of utter befuddlement perfectly encapsulated many viewers' reactions to the interview," in the words of Forward reporter PJ Grisar.[37] Beyond the handling of the pandemic, Swan also exposed the President's perceived disinterest in Russia's provision of aid to the Taliban and his unwillingness to praise the recently deceased civil rights activist John Lewis.[37]
The interview was widely praised,[38] with commentators applauding Swan's efforts at fact-checking Trump.[39] His approach, they noted, ensured that the President was kept accountable.[40] The New York Times columnist Ben Smith declared it "perhaps the best interview of Mr. Trump's term."[41] In 2021, Axios was awarded an Emmy Award for Best Edited Interview.[14] The interview also became a media and internet sensation,[39] and Swan's stunned facial expressions became a viral internet meme.[36] Swan claimed that, following the interview, the Trump administration refused all his interview requests.[25]
"Off the Rails"
[edit]Shortly before the 2020 presidential election between incumbment president Trump and Joe Biden, Swan revealed Trump's plans to claim victory regardless of the outcome[42] as part of his wider plan to overturn the results.[43] A few months later, he documented the President's plan and efforts in a nine-part[c] series titled "Off the Rails".[d] This series won Swan the 2022 White House Correspondents' Association's Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage.[45]
Later efforts
[edit]In January 2023, after six years reporting for Axios, Swan joined The New York Times, where he focuses on congressional Republicans and Trump.[46]
Personal life
[edit]Swan is married to fellow reporter Betsy Woodruff of Politico;[25] they have two children.[47] He became an American citizen in 2024.[48]
In 2019, it was revealed that Axios, suffering backlash against Swan's first interview with Donald Trump, had paid a journalist to improve its reputation by lobbying for changes to the Wikipedia articles on Axios 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.[49]
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b Brinn 2020
- ^ Politico 2017
- ^ Harvey 2020
- ^ Cohen & Koessler 2022
- ^ a b Child 2020
- ^ Education Standards Authority
- ^ a b c d e f g Farhi 2018
- ^ Farhi 2018; The Sydney Morning Herald 2014
- ^ a b Grynbaum 2018; McGowan & Cantor 2020
- ^ Farhi 2018; Grinapol 2015
- ^ a b Grinapol 2015
- ^ a b c d e f g Grynbaum 2018
- ^ Gold 2016
- ^ a b Fischer 2022
- ^ Fischer 2022; Kassel 2020
- ^ a b Farhi 2018; Grynbaum 2018
- ^ Biddle 2018; Farhi 2018; Grynbaum 2018
- ^ Grynbaum 2018; Watson 2018
- ^ Barr 2020
- ^ a b Biddle 2018; Watson 2018
- ^ Barr 2020; Grynbaum 2018
- ^ a b Watson 2018
- ^ a b Biddle 2018
- ^ Biddle 2018; Grynbaum 2018; McGowan & Cantor 2020
- ^ a b c d Kassel 2020
- ^ Kikerpill 2022, p. 142
- ^ Barr 2020; Kikerpill 2022, p. 142
- ^ Karl 2021, pp. xviii, 33
- ^ Barr 2020; Kassel 2020; Meade 2021
- ^ Holpuch 2020
- ^ Dale 2020; Kassel 2020; Rupar 2020
- ^ Rupar 2020
- ^ Dale 2020
- ^ Barr 2020; Schwartz 2020
- ^ Brinn 2020; Holpuch 2020
- ^ a b Brinn 2020; Grisar 2020; Kassel 2020
- ^ a b Grisar 2020
- ^ Barr 2020; McGowan & Cantor 2020; Meade 2021
- ^ a b Brinn 2020; Meade 2021
- ^ Brinn 2020; Kassel 2020; Schwartz 2020
- ^ Meade 2021
- ^ Karl 2021, pp. 117–118
- ^ Karl 2021, ch. 28–29; Parmar 2021, pp. 35–50
- ^ a b Swan & Basu 2021
- ^ Manning 2022
- ^ The New York Times Company 2022
- ^ Kassel 2020; Swan 2022
- ^ Swan 2024
- ^ Feinberg 2019
Bibliography
[edit]Books and academic papers
[edit]- Karl, Jonathan (2021). Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show. New York City, New York: Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0593186329.
- Kikerpill, Kristjan (2022). "Misinformation, Scandalization, and the Trump Show: Audience Responses to President Trump's Pandemic Narrative". In Chen, Shing-Ling S.; Allaire, Nicole; Chen, Joyce Zhuojun (eds.). Discordant Pandemic Narratives in the U.S. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-7936-5533-2.
- Parmar, Inderjeet (2021). "Trump's Coup and Insurrection: Biden's Challenge and Opportunity". Insight Turkey. 23 (1) https://www.insightturkey.com/: 35–50. doi:10.25253/99.2021231.4. JSTOR 26989815.
{{cite journal}}
: External link in
(help)|article-number=
News articles
[edit]- Barr, Jeremy (August 4, 2020). "Axios's Jonathan Swan is the latest interviewer to leave Trump grasping on TV". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 15, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- Biddle, Sam (October 30, 2018). "Never Trust a Reporter Who Bounces in His Chair With Glee". The Intercept. Archived from the original on March 4, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- Brinn, David (September 20, 2020). "Jewish journalists make a difference in the world". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- Child, David (August 5, 2020). "Who is Jonathan Swan? The Australian journalist's career highlights so far". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on May 13, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- Cohen, Sam Zieve; Koessler, Matthew (June 24, 2022). "Jonathan Swan joins JI's 'Limited Liability Podcast'". Jewish Insider. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- Dale, Daniel (September 3, 2020). "Jonathan Swan reveals the simple secret to exposing Trump's lies: basic follow-up questions". CNN. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- Farhi, Paul (November 4, 2018). "A fast-rising journalist hits a speed bump with his latest scoop about Trump". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 13, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- Feinberg, Ashley (March 14, 2019). "Facebook, Axios And NBC Paid This Guy To Whitewash Wikipedia Pages". HuffPost. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- Fischer, Sara (November 11, 2022). "Axios' Jonathan Swan heading to NYT". Axios. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- Gold, Hadas (November 6, 2016). "16 breakout media stars of 2016". Politico. Archived from the original on March 20, 2025. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
- Grinapol, Corinne (August 18, 2015). "The Hill Adds Jonathan Swan to Cover the Money in Politics Beat". Adweek. Archived from the original on May 15, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- Grisar, PJ (August 4, 2020). "Jonathan Swan is the meme hero we need right now". The Forward. Archived from the original on April 20, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- Grynbaum, Michael M. (November 4, 2018). "Another Trump Scoop, a Giddy Reaction and a Reporter Under Fire". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- Harvey, Eliza (December 5, 2020). "'You never know what strength you've got': Anna Swan's long road back from brain trauma". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on May 13, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- Holpuch, Amanda (August 4, 2020). "'They're dying … it is what it is': key takeaways from Trump's shocking interview". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
- Kassel, Matthew (November 25, 2020). "Jonathan Swan on migrating to the Biden beat". Jewish Insider. Archived from the original on March 6, 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- Manning, James (April 7, 2022). "Jonathan Swan wins Excellence Award from White House Correspondents' Association". Mediaweek. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- McGowan, Michael; Cantor, Matthew (August 5, 2020). "Who is Jonathan Swan, the reporter who grilled Trump? And what do kangaroos have to do with it?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 19, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- Meade, Amanda (September 29, 2021). "Australian journalist Jonathan Swan wins Emmy for his viral interview with Donald Trump". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 6, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- Rupar, Aaron (August 4, 2020). "'They are dying. That's true. It is what it is.' Trump's Axios interview was a disaster". Vox. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
- Schwartz, Mattathias (August 19, 2020). "The Axios Interview Showed Us an Important Threshold for the President". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
- Swan, Jonathan; Basu, Zachary (December 17, 2021). "Off the Rails". Axios. Archived from the original on May 11, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- Watson, Libby (October 30, 2018). "Jonathan Swan is a bootlicker". Splinter. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- "Fairfax journalist Jonathan Swan awarded prestigious Wallace Brown Young Achiever Award". The Sydney Morning Herald. May 20, 2014. Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- "Monday's birthdays". Politico. August 8, 2017. Archived from the original on February 28, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- "Jonathan Swan Joins The New York Times". The New York Times Company. November 11, 2022. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
Other media
[edit]- Swan, Betsy Woodruff (October 4, 2022). "Baby Samuel is here! We are so thankful for this little cutie" (Tweet). Retrieved May 14, 2025 – via Twitter.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - Swan, Jonathan (July 13, 2024). "Thanks for all the kind notes, everyone. Was a very emotional day. Proud to be an American". X (formerly Twitter) (Tweet). Retrieved August 1, 2025 – via Twitter.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - "2003 Higher School Certificate". Education Standards Authority. Archived from the original on April 20, 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- Australian political journalists
- Australian expatriate journalists in the United States
- 1985 births
- Living people
- Australian people of Scottish-Jewish descent
- 21st-century Australian journalists
- The Sydney Morning Herald people
- People educated at Sydney Grammar School
- Jewish Australian journalists
- Naturalized citizens of the United States