Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, chided Lebanese journalists at a Beirut press conference, urging them to "act civilized" and not be "animalistic." He initially declined to step toward the crowd, saying "no no no, I'm not going up there." From the podium he set "a different set of rules," demanded quiet, and warned that if the event became chaotic he and his team would leave. He urged reporters to "act kind, act tolerant," questioned whether enduring the scene was economically beneficial for him and Deputy Special Envoy Morgan Ortagus, and later reiterated "be kind, be tolerant" while refusing to answer questions.
"animalistic" behavior is "the problem with what is happening" in the Middle East.
"no no no, I'm not going up there."
"we're going to have a different set of rules, please be quiet for a moment. The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we're gone."
"So, I beg you - do you think this is fun for us? Do you think this is economically beneficial for [Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East] Morgan [Ortagus] and I to be here, putting up with this insanity and cadence?"
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