Overview

• The exchange occurred at Lebanon’s presidential palace after Tom Barrack’s delegation met President Joseph Aoun to discuss efforts to disarm Hezbollah.
• Video from the briefing shows Barrack telling reporters to “act civilized” and warning that if it became “chaotic, like animalistic,” the delegation would leave.
• The Lebanese presidency and information minister expressed regret over the incident, while press unions demanded an immediate public apology and some called for a boycott of the envoy’s events.
• Lebanese journalists and commentators denounced the language as insulting or racist and criticized what they described as a colonial attitude toward the local press.
• Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, led a team that included Morgan Ortagus and visiting lawmakers, and U.S. officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.