# Confused Reporter Jonathan Swan Confused Reporter Jonathan Swan, also known as Reporter Reading Paper From Trump, is an exploitable image macro showing Axios journalist Jonathan Swan examining a sheet of paper handed to him by Donald Trump during their July 2020 HBO interview[3]. Within a week of the clip's August 3rd YouTube upload, Twitter and Reddit users were pasting absurd questions and bizarre artwork onto the paper, turning Swan's bewildered face into a reaction template[2]. ## Origin The source clip comes from Axios on HBO's White House interview between President Donald Trump and reporter Jonathan Swan, with the segment released on July 28th, 2020[1]. During a heated exchange about coronavirus statistics, Trump hands Swan a printed chart, and Swan examines it with a visibly confused look. HBO uploaded the full interview to YouTube on August 3rd, where it drew more than 11.2 million views, 171,000 likes and 97,000 comments in roughly three days before it was later deleted[3]. The earliest known meme edit appeared the next day. On August 4th, 2020, Twitter user @KT_So_It_Goes posted a version with the paper edited to read "How does milk know when it is yogurt?" The tweet picked up nearly 500 likes and 105 retweets in its first 48 hours[2]. - **Platform:** HBO / YouTube (source clip), Twitter and Reddit (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2020 ## Overview Posts in the format typically crop the frame to show Swan holding the paper with his trademark puzzled stare, then replace the actual COVID-19 chart with anything from unanswerable philosophical questions to crude MS Paint drawings[3]. One of the earliest viral edits asked "How does milk know when it is yogurt?" which set the tone for the surreal non sequitur style that defined later versions[2]. Variants cross into fandoms as well. Star Wars edits[5], superhero mashups, and 5-panel remixes appeared alongside the single-image versions[9]. The format works because Swan's face reads as genuine confusion no matter what gets photoshopped onto the paper, letting creators load Trump's hand with increasingly absurd prompts. ## How to Use To make a Confused Reporter Jonathan Swan edit, start with the still frame of Swan holding the paper, then photoshop a question, chart, or drawing onto the sheet in his hand. Common conventions include unanswerable riddles, cursed imagery, or fandom crossovers where Trump hands over something like a Death Star schematic. The joke depends on Swan's face selling genuine confusion at whatever absurdity sits on the page[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Confused Reporter Jonathan Swan? It is an exploitable image macro showing Axios reporter Jonathan Swan with a confused expression as he reads a paper handed to him by Donald Trump during their July 2020 HBO interview[3]. ### Where did Confused Reporter Jonathan Swan come from? The source clip is from the Axios on HBO interview released on July 28th, 2020, in which Trump passes Swan a COVID-19 chart that he examines with visible confusion[1]. ### What does Confused Reporter Jonathan Swan mean? Edits of the still typically replace the chart with absurd questions or drawings, using Swan's puzzled face as a reaction to anything bewildering. The "How does milk know when it is yogurt?" edit set the surreal tone early on[2]. ### How do you use Confused Reporter Jonathan Swan? People photoshop a non sequitur question or image onto the paper in Swan's hand so his confused expression reads as a reaction to that absurd content[4]. ### Is Confused Reporter Jonathan Swan still popular? The format peaked in August 2020 with viral r/memes and r/dankmemes posts clearing 100,000 upvotes each[7][8], and sightings have thinned out since then as the news moment faded. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQsLvvEdyOk]() 2. [https://twitter.com/KT_So_It_Goes/status/1290638002662842368]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/confused-reporter-jonathan-swan]() 4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeEconomy/comments/i3tgq3/invest_before_its_too_late/]() 5. [https://twitter.com/DeathStarPR/status/1290785169570332672]() 6. [https://twitter.com/GarbageApe/status/1290656505021313029]() 7. [https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/comments/i49j0a/hes_got_a_point/]() 8. [https://www.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/comments/i41dpd/he_just_always_has/]() 9. [https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeEconomy/comments/i4a60m/invest_fast_in_this_alternate_5_panel_version_of/]() 10. [https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeEconomy/comments/i443e7/here_is_a_cleaner_version_of_the_trump_interview/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/confused-reporter-jonathan-swan Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library