Axios political reporter Jonathan Swan, 34, is getting major recognition for an incredible interview he did with President Donald Trump on July 28. During the interview, which aired on HBO on August 3, Trump provided baffling answers to Swan’s questions about the coronavirus pandemic, Black Lives Matter, Ghislaine Maxwell, and more. He even came equipped with printed out graphs to prove that Swan was “wrong” about his COVID-19 data. Here’s five facts you should know about Swan following the interview, which you can watch, in full, above:
1. He joined Axios in 2016 after working at a number of other publications. Swan began his career in journalism as a correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald, as well as a national political reporter for Fairfax Media in Canberra, Australia. He moved to The Hill in Washington, DC, in 2015 as part of their presidential campaign coverage team. He joined Axios in December 2016 to become their national political reporter.
2. He’s broken a significant number of Trump stories. Former journalist Ronald Kessler claimed in his 2018 book The Trump White House: Changing the Rules of the Game that Trump often gave Swan information for his articles, under the agreement that it would be attributed to an “unnamed White House official.” Swan was the first to report that the US was pulling out of the Paris Accords, that Steve Bannon was being fired, that Trump was ending DACA, and more.
3. He’s married to fellow political journalist Betsy Woodruff Swan. The couple tied the knot in 2019. Woodruff Swan, 30, is a national political reporter for Politico and a contributor on MSNBC.
4. His father is famed broadcaster Norman Swan. The elder Swan, also a doctor, has worked for the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) since 1982. He has produced and presented the ABC radio program The Health Report since 1985.
Jonathan Swan is all of us. pic.twitter.com/jFQlrpXLGx
— Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer_) August 4, 2020
5. His facial expressions went viral. After the HBO interview aired, Twitter couldn’t stop laughing at — and relating to — Swan’s facial expressions while listening to Trump speak. He seemed surprised, upset, and in disbelief all at the same time, as the president babbled about his “fantastic” coronavirus response and grumbled that the late Rep. John Lewis didn’t come to his 2017 inauguration.