Trump’s envoy tells Lebanese journalists not to be ‘animalistic,’ ties behavior to Middle East’s ‘problem’

By Mostafa Salem and Charbel Mallo, CNN

(CNN) — United States Special Envoy Tom Barrack sparked outrage after telling Lebanese journalists to act “civilized,” not “animalistic,” during a news conference in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday.

Barrack, joined by deputy envoy Morgan Ortagus, was in the Lebanese capital as part of US efforts to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. During the briefing, he scolded the journalists for calling out questions simultaneously – a common practice in news conferences – linking their behavior to what he described as a broader “problem” in the Middle East.

“Please, be quiet for a moment. And I wanna tell you something. The moment this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone. So, you want to know what’s happening? Act civilized, act kind, act tolerant, because this is the problem with what’s happening in the region,” he told the reporters.

Lebanon faces a delicate dilemma. It relies on crucial US support while accommodating Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in the country, even as it comes under frequent Israeli military attacks.

“Do you think this is fun for us? Do you think this is economically beneficial for Morgan (Ortagus) and I to be here putting up with this insanity?” he told the journalists.

Barrack, who is of Lebanese descent, is the special envoy to Syria and also serves as the US Ambassador to Turkey.

The envoy’s comments angered Lebanese journalists on social media, who described the statements as “racist.”

“Tom Barrack struts into Beirut like a 19th-century colonial commissioner, calls Lebanese journalists ‘animalistic,’ lectures us on ‘civilization,’ & blames it all on our ‘region.’ That’s not just arrogance, it’s racism. You don’t run this country, & you don’t get to insult its people,” Lebanese-British journalist Hala Jaber said on X.

Another journalist, Ali Hashem, called the comments “humiliating.”

“The level of arrogance US officials demonstrate in Lebanon is humiliating for the country.”

CNN has reached out to the US State Department and Barrack’s team for comment.

Without naming Barrack, the Lebanese presidency said it “regrets the statements made from its platform” by “one of its guests today.”

Barrack is leading a US delegation to Lebanon, including Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Congressman Joe Wilson, and Ortagus.

The US has offered Lebanon support if its government disarms Hezbollah. The militant group was weakened significantly after months of an Israeli campaign that was launched after Hezbollah attacked Israeli-held territory in support of Hamas in October 2023.

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