Matthew Pottinger

Matthew F. Pottinger is an American former journalist and U.S. Marine Corps officer who served as the United States Deputy National Security Advisor from September 22, 2019 until January 7, 2021.[1] Previously serving as Asia Director on the National Security Council since 2017, his tenure was unusual among senior aides serving under President Trump for its length, given an administration marked by high turnover.[2] Pottinger worked to develop the Trump administration's policies towards China.[3][4]

Matt Pottinger
32nd United States Deputy National Security Advisor
In office
September 22, 2019 – January 7, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byCharles Kupperman
Succeeded byJonathan Finer
Personal details
Born1973/1974 (age 46–47)
Spouse(s)Yen Pottinger
Children2
FatherJohn Stanley Pottinger
EducationUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst (BA)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Marine Corps
Years of service2005–2010 (active)
2010–present (reserve)
RankMajor
Battles/warsIraq War
War in Afghanistan
AwardsBronze Star
Combat Action Ribbon
Defense Meritorious Service Medal

He resigned from his position early January 7, in the wake of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[5]

Early life and education

Pottinger is the son of author and former Department of Justice official J. Stanley Pottinger.[6] He was educated at Milton Academy and was a schoolmate and childhood friend of John Avlon.[7][8][9] Pottinger graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese studies and is fluent in Mandarin.[10]

Career

Journalism

Before he joined the United States Marine Corps, Pottinger worked as a journalist for Reuters between 1998 and 2001.[11][6] Then he moved to The Wall Street Journal until his retirement from journalism in 2005.[6] For four years, he was a regular guest on the John Batchelor Show radio program. His stories won awards from the Society of Publishers in Asia. He covered a variety of topics, including the SARS epidemic and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami; in the latter assignment, he met United States Marines and was inspired by their courage.[11][6] He spent seven years reporting in China.[12][13]

Military career

Pottinger's career switch was motivated by his experience in China and the Iraq War. By 2004, Pottinger had "sort of a sense of unease that China was not really going to converge with the more liberal order." He believed that when it was powerful enough, China would "influence the world on its own terms, on the terms of the ruling party." As he watched all the first phase of Iraq War unfold from a distant location in China, he was a bit troubled that "as a nation, the administration, the Congress and to a great extent the press as well had misjudged the nature of conflict." China's rise and the Iraq War had made him realize that democracy is "not inevitable and it shouldn't be taken for granted but it is a form of government very much worth fighting for."[14]

In September 2005, Pottinger joined the Marine Corps and served as a military intelligence officer.[6] He was over-aged and out of shape when he joined. To meet the physical qualifications, he worked out with a Marine officer who was living in Beijing.[6] He served three deployments: one (together with Mike Gallagher) in Iraq from April to November 2007, and two in Afghanistan from November 2008 to May 2009 and July 2009 to May 2010.[15] On his second tour in Afghanistan, he met U.S. Army General Michael T. Flynn, with whom he co-wrote a report.[6][16] The report, published in January 2010 through the Center for a New American Security, was titled Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan.[17] After he left active service, Pottinger worked in New York City, including for the hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management.[6]

Politics

A 2018 Politico profile described Pottinger as "a fairly typical conservative internationalist" who "has never been a Trump-style #MAGA conservative" and who donated to both Democrats and Republicans.[18] In 2017, he was hired as a member of the U.S. National Security Council of the administration of Donald Trump.[19][20][21] Michael Flynn, whom Pottinger had worked for in the military, made him the NSC's Asia director, and he remained in his position under H. R. McMaster and John Bolton.

In 2018, after a proposed summit with North Korea had been cancelled,[22] The New York Times reported that "a senior White House official told reporters that even if the meeting were reinstated, holding it on June 12 would be impossible, given the lack of time and the amount of planning needed."[23][24] The President subsequently alleged that the New York Times had made up the existence of the unnamed White House official;[25] on Twitter, journalist Yashar Ali later posted audio of Pottinger giving the officially organized background briefing cited by the Times,[26] in which, without actually using the word "impossible", he responded to a reporter's question about the feasibility of the originally scheduled date by saying "We've lost quite a bit of time that we would need" and "June 12th is in ten minutes."[27][18]

In his NSC position, Pottinger advocated a tough stance on China that combined trade policy with national security.[18][28] In September 2019, newly installed National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien named Pottinger Deputy National Security Advisor.[29]

In May 2020, he gave a speech in Mandarin regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.[30] During a virtual conversation hosted by Reagan Foundation on September 30, 2020, Pottinger was asked about the national security implication of Chinese students in the United States. In response, he said "the great majority are people that we're glad to have here and many will stay here and start great businesses." He said it is that one percent of Chinese students that are under contract and have an obligation to bring back everything they know to serve the state back in China.[31]

Pottinger resigned his position on January 7, 2021, following the U.S. Capitol protests in which supporters of President Donald Trump invaded the U.S. Capitol building to halt the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's lawful electoral college victory.[5][32]

Personal life

Pottinger is married to Dr. Yen Pottinger and they have two children.[33] After Pottinger resigned in 2021, he announced that he and his family would relocate to Utah.[34]

References
  1. Samuels, Brett (22 September 2019). "Trump's top adviser on Asia to serve as deputy national security adviser". The Hill. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  2. Lucey, Catherine; Day, Chad (14 June 2019). "Trump Has Seen High Turnover Among Top White House Aides". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  3. Nakashima, Ellen; Nakamura, David; Leonnig, Carol (29 April 2020). "Matthew Pottinger faced Communist China's intimidation as a reporter. He's now at the White House shaping Trump's hard line policy toward Beijing". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  4. Magnier, Mark (5 May 2020). "Trump adviser Matthew Pottinger takes soft approach to promoting democracy in China on May Fourth Movement anniversary". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  5. Collins, Kaitlan; Salama, Vivian; Tapper, Jake; Atwood, Kylie (7 January 2021). "Trump's deputy national security adviser resigns as other top officials consider quitting over Capitol riot". CNN. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  6. "A Veteran and China Hand Advises Trump for Xi's Visit". The New York Times. 4 April 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  7. "Matt Pottinger: Former Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow". Council of Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  8. Avlon, John (27 December 2005). "Gen Xer Joins the U.S. Marines". The New York Sun. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  9. "Captain Matthew Pottinger '91 Entreats Students Toward a Life of Service as the 2010 Veterans' Day Speaker". Milton Academy. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  10. "Trump taps Matt Pottinger to oversee Asian affairs". Korea JoongAng Daily. 6 January 2017. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  11. "Meet Captain Matt Pottinger". The Atlantic. 5 April 2011. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  12. "Reporter Moved to Become a U.S. Marine". ABC News. 1 January 2006. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  13. Pottinger, Matt (15 December 2005). "Mightier Than the Pen". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  14. "A VIRTUAL CONVERSATION WITH DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR MATT POTTINGER". YouTube. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  15. "How bin Laden Catapulted One Man Into War". The Wall Street Journal. 3 May 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  16. "Michael Flynn, General Chaos". The New Yorker. 27 February 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  17. Michael T. Flynn; Captain Matt Pottinger; Paul D. Batchelor (January 2010). "Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan" (PDF). Center for a New American Security. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 November 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  18. Crowley, Michael. "The White House Official Trump Says Doesn't Exist". POLITICO Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  19. "Trump could make Obama's pivot to Asia a reality". The Washington Post. 8 January 2017. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  20. "Mattis clashing with Trump transition team over Pentagon staffing". The Washington Post. 6 January 2017. Archived from the original on 4 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  21. "Flynn is creating the most military-heavy National Security Council of the modern era". The Washington Post. 21 January 2017. Archived from the original on 9 February 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  22. "Trump Cancels Summit, North Korean Leaders Leave Door Open For Talks". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  23. "Trump Says North Korea Summit May Be Rescheduled". The New York Times. 25 May 2018. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  24. "Maggie Haberman on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  25. "Donald J. Trump on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  26. "Who is Matthew Pottinger? Audio of White House official debunks Trump "phony sources" smear against New York Times". Newsweek. 26 May 2018. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  27. Shear, Michael D (26 May 2018). "Trump Falsely Says Times Made Up Source in Report on Korea Summit Meeting". New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  28. "Trump official Matt Pottinger quotes Confucius, in Chinese, to make point about language and truth". SupChina. 2 October 2018. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  29. Salama, Vivian (20 September 2019). "Trump Picks Matt Pottinger as Deputy National Security Adviser". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  30. Rascoe, Ayesha (4 May 2020). "White House Official Delivers Speech In Mandarin To Send Coronavirus Message". NPR. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  31. "A VIRTUAL CONVERSATION WITH DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR MATT POTTINGER". YouTube. 30 September 2020.
  32. "Trump's deputy national security adviser resigns as other top officials consider quitting over Capitol riot". CNN. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  33. "Matthew Pottinger faced Communist China's intimidation as a reporter. He's now at the White House shaping Trump's hard line policy toward Beijing". The Washington Post. 29 April 2020. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  34. UTC, Dareh Gregorian2d ago / 6:14 PM. "Deputy national security adviser Pottinger resigns". NBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
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