Judson P. Deere (born November 28, 1987) is an American political advisor who served as deputy assistant to the president and White House deputy press secretary in the administration of Donald Trump.[1][2]
Judd Deere | |
|---|---|
 | |
| White House Deputy Press Secretary | |
| In office January 31, 2019 – January 20, 2021 Serving with Hogan Gidley, Sarah Matthews | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Lindsay Walters Hogan Gidley |
| Succeeded by | TJ Ducklo Sabrina Singh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Judson Deere November 28, 1987 Benton, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Lyon College (BA) |
Early life and education
editDeere was born in Benton, Arkansas, and graduated from Lyon College in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history.[1] Mr. Deere was previously married to Meagan Bullock. They graduated from Lyon College.
Career
editDeere began his career as a field director for the Republican Party of Arkansas during the 2010 election.[1] He then became an aide to U.S. Senator John Boozman, as Correspondence and Systems Director. In June 2012, he was hired as Director of New Media for U.S. Senator Mike Crapo and was based in his Washington, D.C. office.[3][4]
In 2014, Deere worked for Tim Griffin's campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas. In December 2014, he became the communications director for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, leaving in November 2017.[5][6][7]
Deere left Arkansas in November 2017 to work in Washington, D.C. in the Donald Trump administration, as director of state and local communications in the White House.[8] In September 2018, he was promoted to Special Assistant to the President and Director of Media Affairs.[1] In January 2019, he was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Press Secretary.[9]
On August 27, 2020, Deere, while acting as a spokesman for the Trump Administration White House sent a threat letter to The Washington Post newspaper demanding that they cease reporting on the business dealings of the Trump Organization, a private company. Deere also advised that the White House had assembled a "dossier" on Post reporter David Fahrenthold for criticism of the Administration. Fahrenthold has reported on Trump family's business interests for several years now, but perhaps his best-known article about the President was his 2016 scoop about Access Hollywood tapes, which showed the future President describing how he felt stardom gave him permission to assault women. Deere's threatening comments were included in a response to a request for comment on an article that shows the U.S. Secret Service has spent more than $900,000 at Trump properties during Trump's presidency.[10]
Personal life
editDeere, who is openly gay, has defended Donald Trump and Mike Pence amid criticisms that the Trump Administration was anti-LGBTQ.[11][12][13][14]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Lockwood, Frank E. (September 9, 2018). "Arkansan on Trump team is promoted to special assistant to president, director of media affairs". Arkansas Online.
- ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
- ^ Senate (2013-05-17). United States Senate Telephone Directory 2013. Government Printing Office.
- ^ "Crapo Announces Staff Changes in Washington, D.C. | U.S. Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho". www.crapo.senate.gov. June 7, 2012. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
- ^ "Rutledge Statement on Departure of Communications Director Judd Deere to the White House | Arkansas Attorney General". arkansasag.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-05-09. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ^ "Arkansas AG's spokesman leaving for White House job". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. November 3, 2017.
- ^ Henry, Larry (December 23, 2014). "Judd Deere Named Communications Director For Incoming Attorney General". KSFM.
- ^ "Arkansas AG's spokesman leaving for White House job". KATV. Associated Press. 2017-11-03. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
- ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov. January 31, 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-07 – via National Archives.
- ^ "The White House Says It's Assembling a "Dossier" on a Washington Post Reporter | Washingtonian (DC)". Washingtonian. 2020-08-27. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ "Trump's Spokesperson Is Gay — And He Doesn't Care If That Makes The Left Mad". BuzzFeed News. July 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ^ Moran, Lee (2019-09-03). "WH Spokesperson Argues Pence Isn't Anti-Gay In The Worst Possible Way". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ^ "Trump's Gay Press Secretary Lies, Makes Excuses for His Boss". www.advocate.com. 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ^ Gremore, Graham (2019-07-02). "Trump's gay press secretary on promoting anti-LGBTQ policies: "It just doesn't matter to me"". Queerty. Retrieved 2020-06-13.