Steve Goldstein Fired For Telling Truth About How Tillerson Was Fired

Steve Goldstein Image by state department

By Nathan Guttman March 13, 2018

Steve Goldstein, the State Department’s undersecretary for public affairs and public diplomacy, emerged in recent months as Rex Tillerson’s chief spokesperson. On Tuesday, shortly after news broke about Tillerson’s firing, it was Goldstein who spoke to the press, relaying the ousted secretary’s feelings.

“The secretary did not speak to the president and is unaware of the reason, but he is grateful for the opportunity to serve, and still believes strongly that public service is a noble calling,” Goldstein said in a statement which struck observers as extremely candid, as it did not attempt to hide the dysfunctional relations with the White House.

But he may have been too candid.

Hours later, Goldstein himself was targeted by the Trump purge of the State Department. According to reports Goldstein got a call from the White House letting him know his services are no longer needed and he too can follow his boss and pack up.

Goldstein, who grew up in the Nashville Jewish community served on the Bush administration and worked as a communications executive in the private sector before joining Trump’s administration.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO