J.D. Gordon | |
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Born | New York City, New York, U.S. |
Education | Pennsylvania State University, University Park (BA) Norwich University (MA) |
Known for | Pentagon spokesman, national security advisor |
Jeffrey D. "J.D." Gordon is an American communications and foreign policy adviser, who served as a Pentagon spokesman during the George W. Bush Administration and later a national security adviser to Donald Trump. Gordon is a retired United States Navy officer who was a senior adviser to numerous prominent Republican political figures. Gordon has also been a television commentator and columnist with various media outlets including One America News Network, Fox News, Sky News, The Daily Caller, USA Today, The Hill, The Washington Times and others. Gordon founded Protect America Today, a national security–themed Super PAC in February 2012.
Gordon served a 20-year military career, first in amphibious warfare, and then as a spokesman for the Navy and Department of Defense.[1][2] He managed communications and press relations in a wide variety of locations including posts in Europe, Latin America and Asia. His final assignment was at the Pentagon, serving under Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates from 2005 to 2009. In March 2016, he joined the Trump campaign as the Director of National Security, managing the National Security Advisory Committee under its chairman, Senator Jeff Sessions (R.-Ala.) who became the Attorney General following Trump's election victory. State Department documents show Gordon was formally recommended for the position of Under Secretary, Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
Gordon was born in New York City, raised at the Jersey Shore and graduated from Wall High School, located in Wall Township, New Jersey. Gordon received his undergraduate and graduate education from Penn State University and Norwich University. He completed two senior executive certificate programs at Harvard University Law School's Program on Negotiation.[3]
Since leaving the Pentagon, Gordon has worked as a senior advisor to national Republican political figures, including former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Donald Trump, Herman Cain, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, the latter three during their respective presidential campaigns.
In 2011, Gordon became Vice President of Communications and Chief Foreign Policy and Security Advisor for the 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.[14] Grace Wiler of Business Insider described Gordon's dual role as both campaign spokesman and foreign policy advisor as evidence that Cain had "completely thrown out the conventional campaign playbook."[15] From its analysis of Gordon's columns and television appearances prior to the campaign, The Nation magazine wrote, "it would appear that Cain is getting the same national security advice he would from Dick Cheney."[16]
After the Cain campaign ended, Gordon returned to his role as an advisor to Washington-based think tanks,[citation needed] as well as conservative columnist and television commentator.
In February 2012, Gordon founded a national security-themed Super PAC, Protect America Today (PAT). During the 2012 presidential campaign, Gordon ran political ads in eight states for 16 federal candidates to "Save 1 million jobs," a reference to stopping further cuts to defense spending, including sequestration. Winning candidates backed by Gordon included Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Representative Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), and Representative Steve Daines (R-MT).
During the 2014 mid-term elections, 13 of 16 candidates for whom Gordon ran ads won their races, as Republicans took control of both the Senate and House of Representatives. PAT-endorsed candidates who won their elections include Senate Majority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Representative Barbara Comstock (R-VA), Representative Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Representative Steve King (R-IA), Representative French Hill (R-AR), Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) and Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA).
In 2016, Protect America Today backed successful Senate and House candidates including Senator Pat Toomey, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania; Sen. Rob Portman, Rep. Jim Jordan in Ohio; Sen. Todd Young in Indiana; Sen. Ron Johnson, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner in Wisconsin; Sen. Johnny Isakson, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland in Georgia and Rep. Darrell Issa in California.
Further information: Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation |
During the 2016 presidential election cycle, Gordon initially supported former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. In 2015, Gordon became Huckabee's Chief Foreign Policy Advisor. He appeared on behalf of Huckabee at various events, to include speaking at a White House rally against the Iran Deal in July 2015, alongside Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
In February 2016, Gordon endorsed Donald Trump for president.[17]
In March 2016, he joined the Trump campaign as the Director of National Security, managing the National Security Advisory Committee under its chairman, Senator Jeff Sessions.
In July 2016, just prior to the Republicans' 2016 Convention in Cleveland, Gordon successfully advocated with elected delegates to soften a proposed amendment to the Republican National Committee's policy platform that called for providing "lethal defensive weapons" to the government of Ukraine.[18] At the time, many Republican foreign policy leaders favored stronger support of Ukraine than the Obama administration had offered.[19] In January 2017, Business Insider reported that he had "never left" his "assigned side table, nor spoke publicly at the meeting of delegates during the platform meeting,"[20] but in March 2017 he acknowledged to CNN that, in CNN's words, "Gordon had advocated for language in the GOP platform that the Ukrainians not be armed in their battle against pro-Russian separatists."[21][18] Gordon has said of his advice to soften the proposed amendment on Ukraine that "this was the language Donald Trump himself wanted," though he has denied that Trump was aware at the time of the "details."[18][21]
After the election, media outlets reported that Gordon had encountered Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak on July 20, 2016, a week after the platform amendment debate, while serving as a guest speaker to over 50 ambassadors to the United States as part of the U.S. State Department's Global Partners in Diplomacy Program (GPD).[22] Previously, Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks had denied any contacts with Russian diplomats. In August 2018, The Washington Post reported that Gordon had socialized with Maria Butina, a Russian graduate student at American University, in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election.[23]