BBC Editor Ridiculed for Calling Assad 'Weak Rather than Wicked'

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BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson was ridiculed Sunday after he called fleeing Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad “weak rather than wicked.”

The 80-year-old taxpayer-funded journalist – who has spent his entire working life at the national broadcaster after starting there in 1970 – also said he personally found Assad “meek” and the “reverse of the traditional dictator” when met face-to-face.

Writing on X, Simpson said: “Bashar al-Assad has done many evil things, but he’s weak rather than wicked. His family members, Iran and especially Russia told him what to do, and he feebly did it. In person, I found him meek and anxious to please — the reverse of the traditional dictator.”

No sooner had the post been made on X than readers responded and took the reporter to task, questioning his judgement both of the murderous regime al-Assad led and the man himself.

A community note was quickly added to the publicly funded reporter’s original post.

Others simply called Simpson a disgrace.

As Breitbart News reported, the Assad family’s brutal 50-plus years of rule over Syria was ended over the weekend when Bashar al-Assad ran away and found refuge in Russia.

Assad was one of the most notorious tyrants in the world, one who used chemical weapons against his own people as well as overseeing the mass murder of tens of thousands of his opponents – real and imagined.

His despotic regime nearly collapsed in the civil war that erupted during the Arab Spring in 2011, but he was shored up by Russian and Iranian forces.

The Kremlin on Monday said Russia has granted political asylum to Assad, a decision made by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has declined to comment on Assad’s specific whereabouts.