Swan interviewed Trump in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He was praised for fact-checking Trump's falsehoods 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 viral internet meme.
At age 25, Swan entered into journalism, covering politics for The Sydney Morning Herald.[6] Around this time, he also worked for The Age.[7] 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.[3][8] In 2014,[6][8] as part of a fellowship with the American Political Science Association, Swan emigrated to the United States to work as a congressional aide at Washington, 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]
United States career
Beginnings
Swan began reporting on politics at The Hill in 2015.[9] A year later, he joined Axios shortly before the company's founding,[10] and it is at Axios that his career "accelerated."[6]
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 that Deputy Attorney GeneralRod Rosenstein had resigned, which caused a stir in the media. However, the report was false. This damaged Axios's reputation, which had already been questioned owing to their articles's perceived shallowness.[8]
First Trump interview (2018)
Swan in his 2018 interview with Donald Trump, as he grins exuberantly while inquiring the President on his plan to repeal birthright citizenship
Swan interviewed Trump in October 2018.[12] In one preview clip, Trump revealed that he was planning to end birthright citizenship in the US,[6][8] a constitutionally 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 and Axios's reputation of favoring access over accountability.[3][8] Conversely, veteran journalist Bob Woodward argued that he was not soft—he was "tough but fair."[6] Swan later regretted his performance.[8][11]
Second Trump interview (2020)
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 on Axios's HBO series on August 3, 2020.[12][13] The US was then engulfed in a pandemic that had killed upward of 100,000 Americans[14] as well as nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd.[15] This time, Swan's approach was more critical.[11] Throughout the interview, he pointedly challenged and called out the President's false 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]
Swan in his 2020 interview with Donald Trump, as he gives a befuddled expression in response to the President's statements
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 of CNN 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 journalist David 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 activist John Lewis[19] as well as his doubling down on "wish[ing] [ Ghislaine Maxwell] well" after her arrest for abetting child 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 an Emmy 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 viral internet meme.[3][11][20]
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.[30]
References
Notes
↑ In actual fact, all Axios articles tend to be brief.[8]
↑ A tenth bonus article (or episode) is also included in the series.[25]
↑ "Off the Rails" was coproduced with Zachary Basu.[25]
Karl, Jonathan (2021). Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show. New York City, New York: Penguin Random House. ISBN978-0593186329.
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. ISBN978-1-7936-5533-2.
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