Jofi Joseph sent out profanity laced tweets too.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: An Indian American, who worked as one of President Barack Obama’s top aides in Middle Eastern foreign policy, has been fired for sending critical tweets of the administration.
Forty year-old Jofi Joseph was shown the door after it was revealed that he was the perpetrator behind a Twitter account (@natsecwonk) that was harshly critical of President Obama’s foreign policy, national security, and hiring decisions over the past two-and-a-half years.
The officially listed reason for his dismissal was “his snarky and sometimes bilious tweets.”
Some of the tweets went from name-calling to outright profanity, with one tweet saying “Has shitty staff. #ObamaInThreeWords.”
Originally born in West Germany, Joseph and his parents immigrated to the US when he was just six months old. He graduated high school as the valedictorian of his class, and went on to attend George University’s School of Foreign Service, from which he graduated in 1994. Additionally, he was a Rotary Fellow at the University of Salzburg, and a Truman Scholar at Princeton University.
He then worked numerous jobs in the political sphere, including as the Director for Non-Proliferation at the White House from August 2011 until his departure, during which time he played a critical role in the US-Syria chemical weapons standoff earlier this year. He was also on the National Security Council’s non-proliferation team as well.
Joseph is described by many that knew him as an amiable person, generally quiet but known for a sarcastic sense of humor. Some have said that he was also critical of his higher-ups, especially when they made mistakes, attributing any slip-ups to them simply not being as qualified for their jobs as he was.
He apologized for the tweets earlier this week, saying to Politico: “What started out as an intended parody account of DC culture developed over time into a series of inappropriate and mean-spirited comments” and that he “bear[s] complete responsibility for this affair and I sincerely apologize to everyone I insulted,” to NBC.
Joseph, a Democrat is married to Republican staffer Carolyn Leddy, who works on the Foreign Relations Committee. It has not been revealed or reported that she had any involvement with her husband’s Twitter account, so her job status is considered safe.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com