Oral history interview with Jennifer Palmieri, 2021
Abstract
Jennifer Palmieri discusses her contribution to the communications strategy of the Obama administration, in which she served as deputy director of communications from 2011 to 2013 and director of communications from 2013 to 2015. Palmieri outlines the challenges associated with communicating effectively amid changes in the media landscape, describes the evolution of the Obama administration's relat ions with the press, and provides details about the administration's approach to communications around major events and initiatives, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the killing of Trayvon Martin and the trial of George Zimmerman, and congressional negotiations over the debt ceiling and fiscal cliff. She also reflects on the role of women in the Obama White House and the diversity of the administration's personnel, and on major themes related to presidential communications, including the difficulty of effectively translating complex and technical issues into accessible formats, responding to the asymmetric polarization of domestic politics, and deciding whether Obama ought to speak about a particular event. Also discussed are the development of the My Brother's Keeper initiative, the obstructionism of the Republican Party, the administration's relations with conservative media outlets, Obama's solicitation of alternative viewpoints from his advisors, and the relation of the Center for American Progress to the Democratic Party
Presidents--United States; Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre, Newtown, Conn., 2012; Women--Political activity--United States; Communication policy--United States; Palmieri, Jennifer; Obama, Barack; Martin, Trayvon, 1995-2012; Zimmerman, George, 1983-; Center for American Progress; United States. My Brother's Keeper Task Force
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
41 pages
Note (Biographical)
Jennifer Palmieri was communications director of the Obama administration starting in 2013. Before that, she was deputy communications director, joining the administration in 2011. She also served in the Clinton White House in a number of roles, inclu ding as deputy press secretary. She also served as director of communications for the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign. At the time of the interview, she is the co-host of The Circus, a political documentary series on Showtime
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on April 5, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Jennifer Palmieri, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022