Axios political reporter Jonathan Swan deleted and apologized for a Sunday tweet in which he used a derogatory term for Japanese people while talking about the potential for a trade deal between the United States and Japan.
Swan’s original post read: “A US-Jap trade deal by May? 0% chance, say sources close to the talks. The two sides haven’t even agreed on SCOPE of discussions.”
Shortly thereafter, he sent an apology along with a screenshot of the former tweet. “Deleted this tweet because in abbreviating Japan I mindlessly wrote the offensive ‘Jap.’ Apologies,” Swan said in the followup post. The apology came Sunday evening and flew mostly under the radar.
A rep for Swan at Axios declined to comment.
During his time with Axios, Swan has largely distinguished himself for his regular newsletters and streams of scoops and high-level interviews, including with President Trump last November.
Swan has also become a regular on cable news. Without a formal contributor contract on any network, he regularly crops up on MSNBC, Fox News and elsewhere.
Deleted this tweet because in abbreviating Japan I mindlessly wrote the offensive “Jap.” Apologies. pic.twitter.com/wBpwGLCFFi
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) April 28, 2019