Tommy Vietor reflects on his involvement in the political career of Barack Obama, which he supported as a spokesperson for Obama's 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate, deputy press secretary and press secretary for Senator Obama, Iowa press secretary for the Obama 2008 campaign, assistant White House press secretary from 2009 to 2011, and national security spokesperson and special assistant to the pr esident from 2011 to 2013. Vietor recounts the energy and camaraderie of Obama's campaigns in 2004 and 2008, outlines the structure and activities of the White House press office, and provides details about the White House's communications responses to major events with which he was closely involved, including the 2009 Afghanistan policy review, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the protests and uprisings of the Arab Spring, the 2012 Benghazi attack and controversy, and the killing of Osama bin Laden. Vietor also discusses the culture of the White House during the first term, his relationships with members of the press, the administration's treatment of conservative media outlets, and the experience of staffing foreign presidential travel
Presidents--United States; Presidential campaigns--Staff.--United States; Haiti Earthquake, Haiti, 2010; Arab Spring, 2010-; Visits of state--United States; Benghazi Consulate Attack, Banghāzī, Libya, 2012; Vietor, Tommy; Obama, Barack; Bin Laden, Osama, 1957-2011; United States. Office of the White House Press Secretary
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2020
Physical Description
58 pages
Note (Biographical)
Tommy Vietor served as assistant White House press secretary from 2009 to January 2011, and as national security spokesperson and special assistant to the president from 2011 to 2013. Before joining the administration, he was deputy press secretary, t hen press secretary for Senator Barack Obama, and worked on his 2004 and 2008 campaigns. He is a founder of Crooked Media and, at the time of the interview, he co-hosts the podcasts Pod Save America and Pod Save the World
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on December 10, 2020. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Tommy Vietor, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022