John Kirby
John Kirby | |
|---|---|
 | |
| National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications | |
| Assumed office May 28, 2022 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Saloni Sharma |
| Pentagon Press Secretary | |
| In office January 20, 2021 – May 27, 2022[1] | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| In office December 2013 – February 2015[2] | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 3, 1963 |
| Spouse | Donna |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of South Florida (BA) Troy University (MS) Naval War College (MA) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1986–2015 |
| Rank | Template:Dodseal Rear Admiral |
| Commands | Chief of Naval Information |
John F. Kirby is the current spokesman for the United States National Security Council, appointed to the position by Joe Biden in 2022 after being transferred from his previous role as Pentagon Press Secretary. He has been one of the most prominent US government spokespersons during the ongoing 2023 Israel war on Gaza and has demonstrated clear bias in favor of Israel and against Palestinians, leading Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth to declare him "one of Israel's leading spokespeople".[3]
2023 Israel war on Gaza[edit | edit source]
During the 2023 Israel war on Gaza, John Kirby became one of the most publicly recognizable faces of the White House and Biden administration (along with Matthew Miller) when it came to updates on the war in Gaza. He quickly took a strong pro-Israeli stance that was sufficiently obvious for even Israeli media to label him as one of "Israel's leading spokespeople" in a December 2023 article.[3]
Israeli dog tags[edit | edit source]
On December 13, 2023, Kirby gave his National Security Council briefing on the Israel war on Gaza and took questions from members of the press while wearing Israeli dog tags that bore the text "Bring them home now!" — a reference to the soldiers and civilians taken captive by Palestinian militia members on October 7th.
- ↑ Kirby, John [@PentagonPressSec] (May 27, 2022). "A bittersweet day for me, as it's my last day as Pentagon Press Secretary" (Tweet). Retrieved 2022-05-29 – via Twitter.
- ↑ Cooper, Helene (2015-02-18). "John Kirby, Pentagon Spokesman, Will Be Replaced With a Civilian". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tzippy Shmilovitz (2023-12-18). "How John Kirby became one of Israel's leading spokespeople". Yedioth Ahronoth. Retrieved 2023-12-20.