Matt Pottinger facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Matt Pottinger
Matt Pottinger in June 2024
32nd United States Principal Deputy National Security Advisor
In office September 22, 2019 – January 7, 2021
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Charles Kupperman
Succeeded by	Jonathan Finer
Personal details
Born	Matthew Forbes Pottinger 1973 (age 51–52)
Spouse	Yen Duong ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	2
Parent	John Stanley Pottinger (father)
Education	University of Massachusetts, Amherst (BA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	2005–2010 (active) 2010–present (reserve)
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Battles/wars	Iraq War War in Afghanistan
Awards	Bronze Star Combat Action Ribbon Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Chinese name
Chinese	博明
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bó Míng

Matthew Forbes Pottinger, born in 1973, is an American who used to be a journalist and a Marine. He also served as a top advisor for national security in the United States from 2019 to 2021.

Before that, he was in charge of Asian affairs for the National Security Council starting in 2017. He worked for President Donald Trump for a long time. This was quite rare because many people in that administration changed jobs often. Mr. Pottinger helped create the Trump administration's plans for dealing with China.

He resigned on January 6, 2021, after an attack on the U.S. Capitol building. He left the White House the next day. Today, he leads the China Program at a group called the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Early Life and Education

Matthew Pottinger is the son of J. Stanley Pottinger. His father was an author and worked for the Department of Justice. Matthew went to Milton Academy for school. He was also a childhood friend of John Avlon.

Pottinger later graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He earned a degree in Chinese studies. He can speak Mandarin Chinese very well.

Career Journey

Journalism

Before joining the United States Marine Corps, Pottinger worked as a journalist. He wrote for Reuters from 1998 to 2001. After that, he worked for The Wall Street Journal until 2005.

He spent seven years reporting from China. His stories won awards from a group called the Society of Publishers in Asia. He wrote about many different topics. These included the SARS epidemic and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. During his work on the tsunami, he met U.S. Marines. Their bravery inspired him greatly.

Military Service

Pottinger decided to change his career because of his experiences in China and the Iraq War. He felt worried that China might not become more like Western countries. He believed China would want to influence the world on its own terms.

He also watched the Iraq War unfold from China. He felt that the U.S. government and news had misunderstood the conflict. China's growing power and the war made him realize that democracy is worth protecting.

In September 2005, Pottinger joined the Marine Corps. He became a military intelligence officer. He was older than most new recruits and had to get in shape. He worked out with a Marine officer in Beijing to prepare.

He served three times in war zones. One time was in Iraq from April to November 2007. He also served twice in Afghanistan. The first time was from November 2008 to May 2009. The second was from July 2009 to May 2010.

During his second time in Afghanistan, he met U.S. Army General Michael T. Flynn. They wrote a report together. This report was about how to make intelligence more useful in Afghanistan. It was called Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan.

Political Role

In 2017, Pottinger was hired to work for the United States National Security Council. This council advises the President on national security and foreign policy. He was made the Asia director by Michael Flynn. He kept this job under other advisors like H. R. McMaster and John Bolton.

Pottinger believed the U.S. should be firm with China. He thought trade policy and national security were connected. In September 2019, he became the Deputy National Security Advisor. This is a very important role in the White House.

Because he knew a lot about China, he was one of the first people in the Trump administration to push for more safety measures against COVID-19. He suggested stopping travel from China early on. On January 28, he told President Trump that some people in China were testing positive for COVID-19 without showing symptoms. This was later confirmed by medical reports.

In May 2020, he gave a speech in Mandarin about the COVID-19 pandemic. He also spoke about Chinese students in the U.S. He said most of them are welcome and will start great businesses. However, he noted that a small number might be required to share information with the Chinese government.

China placed sanctions on him and 28 other Trump officials in January 2021. They claimed these officials had violated China's power. President Biden's National Security Council said these sanctions were "unproductive."

Pottinger resigned on January 6, 2021. This happened after supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol building. They tried to stop the official counting of votes for President-elect Joe Biden.

In 2021, Pottinger joined the Hoover Institution. He is now a distinguished fellow there. He also works on a research team called "China's Global Sharp Power Project." He leads the China Program for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

In February 2023, Pottinger spoke to a U.S. House committee. He said it was confirmed that ByteDance used TikTok to watch American journalists. This was done to find and punish their sources.

Personal Life

In 2014, Matthew Pottinger married Dr. Yen Duong. She is a virologist, a scientist who studies viruses. Dr. Duong came to the United States as a child. Her family fled Vietnam after the Vietnam War. Matthew and Yen have two children. They live in Utah.