Sharon Zhang
Truthout / August 27, 2025
Ambassador Tom Barrack said “animalistic” behaviour is “the problem with what is happening” in the Middle East.
The U.S. ambassador to Turkey sparked fury on Tuesday for chiding a group of Lebanese journalists to “act civilized” and not be “animalistic,” saying such behaviour is responsible for the strife in the Middle East.
During a press conference in Beirut on Tuesday, as reporters asked questions and clamoured for his attention — a typical practice in news conferences around the world — Tom Barrack complained about the crowd before he even stepped up to the podium, saying “no no no, I’m not going up there.”
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After he stepped up to the podium, he said, “we’re going to have a different set of rules, please be quiet for a moment. The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone.”
“Act civilized, act kind, act tolerant, because this is the problem with what’s happening in the region,” he went on. “So, I beg you — do you think this is fun for us? Do you think this is economically beneficial for [Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East] Morgan [Ortagus] and I to be here, putting up with this insanity and cadence?”
Later, in another gaggle, Barrack, who is also the U.S.’s special envoy for Syria, lectured reporters again. He told them to “be kind, be tolerant” while refusing to answer questions.
Barrack’s comments quickly sparked outrage for their racist and dismissive nature, with many pointing out that his language echoed the colonial mindset behind many of history’s worst atrocities, including the U.S.’s invasions of the Middle East. His comments are among many dehumanizing comments made about people in Arab countries by foreign policy officials in the Trump administration.
“The level of arrogance U.S. officials demonstrate in Lebanon is humiliating for the country,” said Lebanese journalist Ali Hashem.
“Tom Barrack struts into Beirut like a 19th-century colonial commissioner, calls Lebanese journalists ‘animalistic,’ lectures us on ‘civilisation,’ and blames it all on our ‘region.’ That’s not just arrogance, it’s racism,” said Lebanese British journalist Hala Jaber. “You don’t run this country, and you don’t get to insult its people…. Your contempt exposes you, not us.”
Jaber added that the fact that Barrack is Lebanese “makes his condescension even worse.”
Lebanese officials apologized for his behaviour. The Union of Journalists in Lebanon called on outlets to boycott events until Barrack issues an apology.
“The union considers Barrack’s comments against journalists not as a mere slip of the tongue or an individual stance, but rather as a reflection of an unacceptable superiority in dealing with the media and an implicit disdain for the essence of journalistic work,” the union said.
“Furthermore, the content of his remarks reflects ingrained colonial arrogance towards the peoples of the region and constitutes a blatant violation of basic diplomatic etiquette and the values that diplomacy should represent — chief among them respect for press freedom and the people’s right to knowledge,” it went on.
Barrack has not apologized. After the backlash, Barrack cancelled planned visits to other cities in southern Lebanon, without providing reasoning.
Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering politics, climate and labour
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US envoy sparks uproar after telling Lebanese journalists to ‘act civilised’
AFP / August 26, 2025
Reporters demand apology from Tom Barrack, US special envoy to Syria, after his remarks at Beirut press conference.
Beirut – Journalists in Lebanon have demanded an apology from a senior US envoy after he told them to “act civilized” and not be “animalistic”.
As reporters shouted questions after the US delegation’s meeting with the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, on Tuesday, Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, stepped up to the podium in the packed room and said: “We’re going to have a different set of rules … please be quiet for a moment.
“The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone,” he said.
“Act civilised, act kind, act tolerant, because this is the problem with what’s happening in the region,” added Barrack, who has recently been leading talks with Lebanese officials.
The Lebanese presidency in a statement on X expressed regret at “remarks made inadvertently from its podium by one of its guests”, affirming its appreciation for the journalists and media representatives.
The information minister, Paul Morcos, in a statement also expressed regret at the remarks “by a member of the foreign delegation towards media representatives at the presidential palace”.
The photojournalists’ syndicate called Barrack’s comments “a direct insult” that set “a serious and totally unacceptable precedent”.
In a statement, it demanded “an immediate and public apology”, rejecting attempts to “downplay the seriousness of what happened or let it pass without accountability”.
The press editors’ syndicate also called for “a public statement of apology” and floated a boycott of the envoy’s future visits and meetings.
The union of journalists in Lebanon said Barrack’s remarks were “a reflection of an unacceptable arrogance in dealing with the media” and also called for an official apology.
Ibrahim Musawi, a lawmaker from the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and head of parliament’s media committee, called the remarks “a blatant insult” and urged the government to “summon the US ambassador and reprimand her”.
