BEIRUT — A U.S. diplomat apologized Thursday for using the word “animalistic” while calling for a gaggle of reporters to quiet down during a news conference in Lebanon earlier this week.
Tom Barrack, who is the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Syria and has also been on a temporary assignment in Lebanon, said he didn’t intend to use the word “in a derogatory manner” but that his comments had been “inappropriate.”
Barrack visited Beirut along with a delegation of U.S. officials on Tuesday to discuss efforts by the Lebanese government to disarm the Hezbollah militant group and implementation of the ceasefire agreement that ended the latest war between Israel and the Hezbollah in November.
At the start of a news conference at the presidential palace, journalists shouted at Barrack to move to the podium after he started speaking from another spot in the room. After taking the podium Barrack told the crowd of journalists to “act civilized, act kind, act tolerant.” He threatened to end the conference early otherwise.
“The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone,” said Barrack.
The comment sparked an outcry, with the Lebanese press syndicate calling for an apology and calling for a boycott of Barrack’s visits if none was issued. The Presidential Palace also issued a statement expressing regret for the comments made by “one of our guests” and thanking journalists for their “hard work.”
In an interview with Mario Nawfal, a media personality on the X platform, an excerpt of which was published Thursday, Barrack said, “Animalistic was a word that I didn’t use in a derogatory manner, I was just saying ‘can we calm down, can we find some tolerance and kindness, let’s be civilized.’ But it was inappropriate to do when the media was just doing their job.”
He added, “I should have been more generous with my time and more tolerant myself.”
Barrack’s visit came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could begin withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese government’s decision to disarm Hezbollah. When, how and in what order the Hezbollah disarmament and Israeli withdrawal would take place remain in dispute.
The Israeli army on Thursday launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon that it said were targeting “terrorist infrastructure and a rocket platform” belonging to Hezbollah.
Several hours later the Lebanese army announced that two of its soldiers had been killed while investigating an Israeli drone that had crashed in the area of Naqoura on the southern coast, which then exploded. It was not clear why the drone had fallen or what caused the explosion.
U.S. diplomat apologizes for using the word ‘animalistic’ in reference to Lebanese reporters
BEIRUT — A U.S. diplomat apologized Thursday for using the word “animalistic” while calling for a gaggle of reporters to quiet down during a news conference in Lebanon earlier this week.
Tom Barrack, who is the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Syria and has also been on a temporary assignment in Lebanon, said he didn’t intend to use the word “in a derogatory manner” but that his comments had been “inappropriate.”
Barrack visited Beirut along with a delegation of U.S. officials on Tuesday to discuss efforts by the Lebanese government to disarm the Hezbollah militant group and implementation of the ceasefire agreement that ended the latest war between Israel and the Hezbollah in November.
At the start of a news conference at the presidential palace, journalists shouted at Barrack to move to the podium after he started speaking from another spot in the room. After taking the podium Barrack told the crowd of journalists to “act civilized, act kind, act tolerant.” He threatened to end the conference early otherwise.
“The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone,” said Barrack.
The comment sparked an outcry, with the Lebanese press syndicate calling for an apology and calling for a boycott of Barrack’s visits if none was issued. The Presidential Palace also issued a statement expressing regret for the comments made by “one of our guests” and thanking journalists for their “hard work.”
In an interview with Mario Nawfal, a media personality on the X platform, an excerpt of which was published Thursday, Barrack said, “Animalistic was a word that I didn’t use in a derogatory manner, I was just saying ‘can we calm down, can we find some tolerance and kindness, let’s be civilized.’ But it was inappropriate to do when the media was just doing their job.”
He added, “I should have been more generous with my time and more tolerant myself.”
Barrack’s visit came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could begin withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese government’s decision to disarm Hezbollah. When, how and in what order the Hezbollah disarmament and Israeli withdrawal would take place remain in dispute.
The Israeli army on Thursday launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon that it said were targeting “terrorist infrastructure and a rocket platform” belonging to Hezbollah.
Several hours later the Lebanese army announced that two of its soldiers had been killed while investigating an Israeli drone that had crashed in the area of Naqoura on the southern coast, which then exploded. It was not clear why the drone had fallen or what caused the explosion.
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What do a US envoy’s ‘animalistic’ remarks to journalists signify | Israel attacks Lebanon News
Anger after US special envoy Tom Barack tells reporters in Beirut to ‘be civilised’.
Outrage in Lebanon after the US envoy calls journalists “animalistic”.
Tom Barrack’s comments come at a time when the US president has stepped up his attacks on media he dislikes.
So, what’s behind this hostility towards journalists within the Trump administration? And are there wider implications beyond the US?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Rami Khouri – Distinguished fellow at the American University of Beirut
Jodie Ginsberg – CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists
Rick Perlstein – Journalist and historian, specialising in the roots and rise of US conservatism
Published On 28 Aug 202528 Aug 2025
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