Matthew Pottinger

Matthew Pottinger is a former journalist and U.S. Marine Corps officer who is currently serving in the U.S. National Security Council of the administration of Donald Trump.

Early life
Pottinger is the son of author and former politician J. Stanley Pottinger. He was educated at Milton Academy and is a schoolmate and childhood friend of fellow journalist John Avlon. Pottinger graduated from the University of Massachusetts with an undergraduate degree in Chinese studies; he is fluent in Mandarin.

Journalistic career
Before he joined the United States Marine Corps, Pottinger worked as a journalist for Reuters between 1998 and 2001. Then he moved to The Wall Street Journal until his retirement from journalism in 2005. He won numerous awards, including multiple Pulitzer Prize nominations. He covered a variety of topics, including the SARS epidemic and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami; in the latter assignment, he met United States Marines and was inspired by their courageousness. He spent seven years reporting in China. While interviewing Chinese workers in Beijing about their claims of government corruption, Pottinger was attacked by a government thug.

Military career
In September 2005 Pottinger joined the Marine Corps as a military intelligence officer. He was over-aged and overweight when he joined. To meet the physical qualifications, he worked out with an enlisted Marine stationed at the American embassy in Beijing. He served three deployments: one in Iraq from April to November 2007, and two in Afghanistan from November 2008 to May 2009 and July 2009 to May 2010. On his second tour in Afghanistan, he met U.S. Army General Michael T. Flynn, with whom he co-wrote a report. He co-authored a report in January 2010 through the Center for a New American Security entitled Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan. Pottinger worked for a variety of businesses in New York City, such as the hedge fund firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management, after he left active service.

Political career
In 2017, Pottinger was hired as a member of the U.S. National Security Council of the administration of Donald Trump.