President Donald Trump has appointed Darren Beattie—who served as a speechwriter for Trump during his first term—as acting undersecretary of state for public diplomacy despite Beattie's history of racist tweets and beliefs.
In this role, Beattie will be responsible for U.S. messaging abroad on counterterrorism and violent extremism, according to the State Department website.
His elevation to the position comes despite the fact that CNN reported that Beattie previously spoke at a conference attended by white nationalists. In 2018, CNN’s KFile revealed that Beattie, a former visiting instructor at Duke University, delivered a speech in 2016 at the H.L. Mencken Club—an event that has featured white nationalist figures such as Richard Spencer and Peter Brimelow.
At the time, Beattie was serving as a speechwriter in the Trump White House. He defended his remarks as academic in nature, but The Washington Post later reported that he was fired following CNN’s coverage.
Beattie's past has garnered increased attention in part because of a resurfaced tweet in which he stressed the importance of putting "competent white men in charge":
“Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work. Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities, and demoralizing competent white men.”
You can see his post below.
@DarrenJBeattie/X
CNN reviewed dozens of Beattie’s nearly 40,000 tweets following news of his appointment. Neither Beattie nor the State Department immediately responded to requests for comment. The State Department also did not clarify whether the administration plans to nominate Beattie for the position on a permanent basis or if he will remain in an acting capacity.
And yet Beattie's history makes clear his racist beliefs would disqualify him under normal circumstances.
In July 2024, Beattie wrote that if China took over Taiwan, it “might mean fewer drag queen parades in Taiwan, but otherwise not the end of the world,” suggesting the U.S. could accept this in exchange for “massive concessions from China on Africa and Antarctica.”
In August, he claimed that the newly elected liberal Labour Party in the U.K. formed a “ruling regime” that “is far less legitimate than Saddam was in Iraq prior to the US invasion — and, for that matter, far less legitimate than Maduro’s regime in Venezuela.”
By September 2024, he suggested that the U.S. intelligence community was more likely to be responsible for assassination attempts on Trump’s life than Iran.
Beattie has also repeatedly spread conspiracy theories about the January 6 insurrection, referring to the pipe bombs found outside the DNC and RNC offices as the “pipe bomb hoax” and claiming the federal government orchestrated the insurrection, calling it a “Fedsurrection” and a “set up.”
Beattie has been slammed online for his remarks.
Earlier, Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett commented on Beattie's senior position at the State Department, saying she is "tired of white tears" from "mediocre white boys" abusing their power.
Referring to President Donald Trump as a "white supremacist ... that is sitting in the White House" and "backed up by other white supremacists," she stressed that Beattie "needs to go."
In contrast, Beattie's publication called his appointment “a real blow to the same smug hacks who love slapping the ‘conspiracy theorist’ label on anyone who challenges their narrative"—which tells us all we need to know.
