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Michael J. Gerson, Presidential Speechwriter and Columnist, Dies at 58

He composed many of George W. Bush’s signature addresses, and later, as a writer for The Washington Post, took a stand against Donald J. Trump.

By Clay Risen

Michael J. Gerson, who as George W. Bush’s chief speechwriter and one of his closest advisers composed many of the president’s signature addresses and wielded outsize influence on his domestic and foreign policies, and who later, as a regular columnist at The Washington Post, became a sharp critic of the Trump administration, died on Thursday in Washington. He was 58.

Peter Wehner, a close friend and former colleague, said the death, at a hospital, was caused by complications of kidney cancer.

Like President Bush, Mr. Gerson was an unabashed evangelical Christian who believed in the importance of faith in public life. And while the two men could not have been more different — Mr. Gerson was cerebral, reserved and fidgety; Mr. Bush was folksy, outgoing and relaxed — they shared an almost psychic connection, especially when it came to putting their shared values into words.

Rather than trying to bury Mr. Bush’s casual vocal mannerisms under flowery phrases, Mr. Gerson yoked them with concise, plain language, peppered with alliteration and religious references.

He wrote major speeches well ahead of time, often escaping the bustle of the White House to write in a nearby Starbucks.

“People were in Washington passing by this guy who looks like a graduate student at George Washington, frantically scribbling on a pad and a pencil, and have no idea that he’s crafting words that will change the course of history,” Karl Rove, another of Mr. Bush’s closest advisers, said in a phone interview.

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Michael Gerson, Washington Post Columnist and Former George W. Bush Speechwriter, Dies at 58

Known for his speeches for Bush on 9/11, Gerson died at a Washington, D.C. hospital early Thursday

Michael Gerson, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush and an op-ed columnist for the Washington Post, has died. The news came early Thursday out of a Washington, D.C.-area hospital. He was 58 years old.

Peter Wehner, a longtime friend and former colleague of Gerson, told the Post that the cause of death was complications of cancer. Gerson was diagnosed with slow-growing kidney cancer in 2013.

The political writer joined the Bush campaign in 1999. During his tenure as a Bush speechwriter, Gerson helped shape the former president’s messaging in the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Notable phrases coined by Gerson include “the soft bigotry of low expectations,” “the armies of compassion” and the “axis of Evil.” In 2006, Gerson left the Bush administration to pursue other writing and policy work.

He later joined the Post in 2007, where he wrote twice weekly columns about conservative politics and faith.

Gerson is survived by his wife, Dawn Soon Miller, two sons, Michael and Nicholas, and two brothers.

The Washington Post first reported the news.

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Meet the press now, michael gerson, former bush speechwriter during 9/11, dies at 58.

Michael Gerson, speechwriter to former President George W. Bush and a columnist at the Washington Post has died at the age of 58 due to complications from cancer, according to the Washington Post. Gerson helped craft President Bush’s remarks following the 9/11 attacks and was a frequent guest on Meet the Press. Nov. 17, 2022

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• Contact George W. Bush
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These online exhibits and digital collections explore some of the artifacts, photos and videos, and documents housed in the George W. Bush Presidential Library. 

The George W. Bush Presidential Library maintains approximately 43,000 artifacts, primarily foreign and domestic gifts given to the President and Mrs. Laura Bush, and other items obtained throughout the presidency.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library gives researchers a look at American history, the American Presidency, and important issues of public policy.      

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Working with His Senior Staff, President George W. Bush Reviews a Speech Regarding the Day's Terrorist Attacks that He Will Deliver to the Nation from the Oval Office, September 11, 2001.

View in the National Archives Catalog

The George W. Bush Foundation owns and operates the George W. Bush Presidential Museum. For tickets go to  https://www.bushcenter.org/ plan-your-visit  

During the George W. Bush Administration, speeches were used to communicate important policies or actions taken by the United States government. Before the President gave a speech, drafts were created by speechwriters. Speechwriters performed research on topics and reviewed previous speeches and documents to ensure that remarks given by President Bush had a consistent tone and voice. After a speech was completed, it was sent to the Staff Secretary. The Staff Secretary circulated documents to White House staff and requested comments. Once any comments were received, the Staff Secretary coordinated changes to the draft and ensured that the final copy was approved and printed for the President. Often President Bush reviewed and made comments on speeches himself.

After a speech was finalized, it was printed on speech cards. These small cards were used by the President as he gave the speech. President Bush had the habit of underlining almost every sentence on his speech cards. He also sometimes noted where to take a pause or made last minute edits.

Speech drafts and other speech-related documents are found in the White House Office of Records Management subject files. They are primarily filed in SP (Speeches) or in subject files that are related to the speech's topic. For example, a speech given in celebration of a holiday could be filed in HO (Holidays).

Speech drafts are also found in Staff Member Office Files or the files of someone who worked in the White House. Some offices, like the White House Office of Speechwriting or the Staff Secretary, have large groupings of speech cards, speech drafts, and documents used during the writing process in the records.

The following carefully selected resources, some of which are from the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, provide further information about Presidential speeches.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests

• 2014-0040-F: Drafts of President George W. Bush's First Inaugural Address
• 2014-0041-F: Drafts of President George W. Bush's Remarks at the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance on September 14, 2001
• 2014-0042-F: Drafts of the 2002 State of the Union Address
• 2014-0043-F: Drafts of the Beginning of the Iraq War Speeches
• 2014-0044-F: Drafts of the May 1, 2003 Speech Delivered Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln
• 2014-0045-F: Drafts of the Second Inaugural Address of President George W. Bush, Delivered January 20, 2005
• 2014-0489-F: Select Speeches Related to Turkey
• 2014-0555-F - Drafts of President George W. Bush's Remarks at the United States Military Academy at West Point on June 1, 2002
• 2016-0137-F: Records on President George W. Bush's Address to the Nation on the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001
• 2016-0138-F: Speech Drafts of President George W. Bush's Address to Congress on September 20, 2001
• 2016-0139-F: Speech Drafts of President George W. Bush's Address to the Nation Announcing Strikes Against Al-Qaeda Training Camps and Taliban Military Installations in Afghanistan, 10/07/2001

Archival Research Guide

For a more complete guide of the archival records that are open for research, please download the Archival Research Guide:

Document Material at the George W. Bush Presidential Library Pertaining To Major Speeches during the Bush Administration

Additional Resources

Final transcripts of public speeches are published in the Public Papers of the Presidents . Additional speeches, remarks, and statements from 2001-2009 are available on the A rchived White House Website .

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Former George H.W. Bush Speechwriter on Why the President Was Shy About Talking About His World War II Service in Public

I joined the Bush-Quayle presidential campaign in the summer of 1988 when I was 25, writing something called the “line of the day”—a one-page memo of catchy facts, stats, anecdotes on whatever the topic of the day was. Once we arrived at the White House, I began ghostwriting magazine articles by the President. I would send him questionnaires through intraoffice mail and he’d handwrite his answers. It was like having a pen pal. I worked my way up to doing more junior speechwriting stuff, like the turkey pardoning and statements of congratulations to spelling-bee winners. The more I wrote for him, the more I learned his style. He didn’t like to talk about himself much. If we used the word “I” too much he’d circle it, to mean “too many.” He felt that in a democracy the President should use the word “We.”

That’s probably why he was generally extremely reticent to talk about his World War II experience.

The most memorable speechwriting experience I had with him was writing a speech to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1991.

One night at about 6 o’clock in the Oval Office, before the anniversary, we started talking about what his memories were of the day he heard about Pearl Harbor. Despite his father’s objections, he went to sign up for the Navy and got turned away because he was only 17. He showed back up on June 9, 1942, a few days before his 18th birthday and enlisted, becoming the youngest Navy pilot at the time.

Pearl Harbor had a huge effect on his life. Though he flew 58 combat missions, he bristled at being called a war hero. He thought the war heroes were the ones who didn’t come home. He told me about all of the buddies he had lost, the circumstances of their deaths, and him having to write to their parents. But every time he would tell me one of these stories, I’d say, “That’s an amazing story! Can I put that in the speech?” And he’d say, “Oh, God no! You can’t use that. I’m just telling you that.” And he wouldn’t let me use any of it! I pleaded, “Sir, give me something here!” I think he knew he would get very emotional while talking about it, and he didn’t want that to happen.

So we ended up deciding that the message of the speech I was working on, one of four speeches given that day, was to convey to his fellow veterans that it was time to bury the hatchet with Japan. One of his first acts as President was to attend the funeral of Emperor Hirohito — the same emperor who was on the throne when Bush’s plane got shot down over the Japanese island of Chichi Jima on Sept. 2, 1944; he survived but his two crewman died. The President thought it was important to send the message to all of the veterans of Pearl Harbor who were still alive that he did not bear any grudge against the Emperor because of his own personal experiences during the war. He had forgiven the Japanese, and it was time for them to as well. It was a uniquely appropriate speech for George Bush to give having survived being shot down.

I would make the argument that survivor’s guilt was what motivated him to public service and to build his amazing career. He wanted to show that his life was in gratitude for surviving and to repay his colleagues who didn’t make it. He wanted to make his life worthy of their sacrifices. And he did. What a remarkable life he led.

As told to Olivia B. Waxman as part of a presidential-history partnership between TIME History and the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs. Mary Kate Cary is a former speechwriter for George H.W. Bush’s administration and a Senior Fellow at the Miller Center.

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Write to Mary Kate Cary at [email protected]

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Michael Gerson, Post columnist and Bush speechwriter on 9/11, dies at 58

Michael Gerson, a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, died Nov. 17 at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington. He was 58.

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Powerful Writing: Presidential Speechwriters Discuss Their Craft

Presidential speechwriters play an important role in making sure the president’s message hits home with the masses, whether in campaigns or in White House policymaking.

Three past presidential speechwriters are giving a special presentation at Chicago’s American Writers Museum at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, and two of them gave “Chicago Tonight” a behind-the-scenes peek into their profession.

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Carolyn Curiel served as a senior speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. John McConnell was a speechwriter for both President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney during their eight years in the White House.

Below, a Q&A with our guests on the current state of presidential messaging.

How might the threat of impeachment impact speeches during a presidency?

John McConnell:   The news media will cover impeachment as topic A, so dealing with it will be central to any messaging strategy.  Speeches, however, are different – as Bill Clinton showed 21 years ago, a president has no obligation to address impeachment in every public utterance.  A president has an agenda to advance and his words will be widely covered in any event. 

Carolyn Curiel:   A president and his administration should work to compartmentalize the process, however stressful, so the wheels of government don't grind to a halt. As he faced impeachment, President Clinton nonetheless worked with Congress to normalize trade relations with China and brought parties together in pursuit of Middle East peace.

President Trump has come under fire for inaccuracies in his public statements. John, you’ve said the Bush speechwriters had an entire team of fact-checkers. Carolyn, how about President Clinton? How did you both ensure accuracy and why are we not seeing that in the current administration?

McConnell:   Indeed we had a great team of fact-checkers, who spared us anxiety and embarrassment!  I don't know how the office is organized at present, but I would recommend our process to any presidential speechwriting operation.

Curiel:   The Clinton White House had a robust fact-checking system. President Clinton was a policy wonk who often knew the exact statistics needed. Errors rarely survived the process.

President Trump has been known to veer off script when delivering speeches. Did the Presidents you wrote for go off script to this extent, or is this a signature style of Donald Trump that we’ve never seen in a previous president? 

McConnell: President Bush would occasionally depart from the text, but not that often.  He worked hard on his speeches, so when he stepped in front of an audience, the document in front of him contained his best thoughts in his own words.  President Trump is a very different kind of speaker, but he's not the first to veer widely from a prepared text.  President Clinton digressed fairly often, I'm told, and pretty effectively. 

Curiel: It has been said that President Clinton used his speech scripts as briefing memos, and that was sometimes true. But he also sometimes delivered speeches without detours. Those were especially happy days.

How have speeches and messaging changed under the current administration?

McConnell: President Trump waged a successful campaign with more off-the-cuff performances than set-piece speeches, but the balance shifted once he came into office.  He now delivers lots of prepared speeches. Even for a president with an improvisational style like Trump's, there are plenty of times when the traditional path is best, and he takes it. 

Curiel:   The changes have been dramatic from prior administrations, some of it owing to social media, especially Twitter and Facebook, and especially under the current president. Facts, context and the most pressing issues can get lost when the commander-in-chief tweets and talks incessantly – and often about himself – creating and controlling news and rabbit holes of information. It's been good for the news business, though.

Presidential speechwriters Carolyn Curiel and John McConnell share White House memories and their opinions on what makes a great speech with Paris Schutz on “Chicago Tonight.”

Follow Andrea Guthmann on Twitter @AndreaGuthmann

Related stories:

Political Messaging in the Age of Deeply Partisan Politics

What Past Presidents Tell Us About Trump’s Inaugural Speech

The Purpose of the Presidential Farewell Speech

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Former Speechwriter Of George H.W. Bush Discusses President's Legacy

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Christopher Buckley, who was President George H.W. Bush's speechwriter when he was vice president.

Copyright © 2018 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Correction Dec. 5, 2018

An earlier introduction to this audio piece misspelled Christopher Buckley's last name as Buckely.

I Wrote George W. Bush’s Cheat Sheets. Here’s What I Learned.

Even the most youthful commanders in chief use them.

Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration.

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Axios recently reported that President Joe Biden carries cheat sheets with him into meetings with supporters and donors. Some of these supporters have expressed alarm that a president would do such a thing. Perhaps these cards—aide-mémoire, after all—are a sign of age and frailty?

From 2001 to 2002, I had the job of writing speeches for President George W. Bush. Bush was 54 years old when I started working for him—almost 10 years younger than I am now. He was a president of extraordinary physical vigor. He delighted in mountain biking down the plunging slopes of Catoctin Mountain at Camp David. When he did middle-distance runs, he’d be disappointed if his speed slowed much below seven minutes a mile. He lifted weights. He chopped brush. And when he spoke to groups at White House events, he relied on note cards.

The life of a presidential speechwriter may seem glamorous from a distance: selecting the words that could sway the destiny of the nation, even the world. But the unglamorous truth is that about two-thirds of my time was spent preparing such cards for the president’s meetings, both public and private, with constituents and supporters.

David Frum: The enduring lessons of the ‘axis of evil’ speech

President Bush had—and has—phenomenal recall of names and faces. Contrary to some negative reports, he had a deep mastery of policy detail. But like everybody in a highly demanding job, sometimes stress and exhaustion overpowered his active mind. I remember one White House meeting early on in the administration in which Bush discussed his hopes for good economic results from his plan for a tax cut. He talked about the benefits of lowering the top tax rate to … and then he blanked.

This, from a man who could easily name every county judge in Texas.

So the president took to using note cards. The notes for Bush were printed on large cardboard cards in 14-point Arial font—he was not trying to hide his reliance on them; there was no way he could.

On the first card, we would describe the group he was meeting with. For the members of the National Pork Producers Council, this day at the White House would be an experience they would never forget; for the president, it was one of as many as 18 such meetings in a week. After the pork council might come the American Medical Association, then the Persian Gulf ambassadors, then major donors to the Republican National Committee, then a delegation of Great Lakes mayors, then the Teamsters union. You might imagine that you’d never mix them up if you had the job of speaking to them. You’d be wrong.

On the second card, we’d list the names of the event’s attendees, each spelled out phonetically. Calling the president of the Indiana Bar Association “Elaine” when her name is “Eileen” might seem the pettiest of small mistakes, but that little error might cost the president her support, and the support of all her family and friends—which could possibly cost the reelection campaign a crucial margin of victory. How many hours did our small team spend double-checking, then triple-checking, the pronunciation of the names of spouses and children? Many, many.

From the October 2004 issue: Close up: George W. Bush

On the third card, we’d list relevant facts and figures. You may happen to carry in your head the electrical capacity of the New Jersey power grid or the names of the ships in the U.S.’s Mediterranean battle group or a list of the children whom Thomas Jefferson fathered with Sally Hemings. But all of those facts? With one set of them required to be summoned at 3 p.m., the next at 3:30, the third at 4? While also negotiating with the leaders of the House and the Senate, and preparing for an urgent phone dialogue with the president of Brazil?

The fourth card would offer a selection of jokes and quips. Presidential humor should be mildly amusing but not laugh-out-loud funny. Laughter is typically the human mind’s mechanism for resolving discomfort; the more acute the discomfort, the louder the laughter. Consider the way that President Donald Trump destroying a 7-year-old’s faith in Santa Claus was excruciating-funny. Presidential humor should soothe, not shock. Kimmel, not Chappelle.

The fifth card would be the key page: the talking points. What was the message we were driving home? Believe it or not, presidents are not equally interested in every measure that lands on their desk. The new highway bill might be very important to the fortunes of the president’s party in Congress, but it might not seem the uppermost priority compared with advice from NASA that a giant meteor would soon pass perilously close to Earth.

So, for the cheat sheet, we’d itemize how many new bridges the bill would support, how many new interchanges in which key states —all to support a president whose attention might well be preoccupied with some other matter entirely.

Card No. 6 was to me the most interesting: options for making news if the president wanted to make news in that place, that day. As the saying goes, you make news by attacking an enemy, surprising a friend, or announcing a new program. We’d pile those options one atop another. Four times out of five, the president would choose to ignore them entirely.

James Fallows: Obama and the teleprompter

President Barack Obama preferred a teleprompter to cards, if he was having the sort of meeting where one could be used. His critics liked to mock this—as if Obama, of all people, couldn’t speak coherently and fluently unprompted. But if a misplaced word from you could knock 20 percent off the S&P 500 within minutes, wouldn’t you want a cheat sheet or a teleprompter yourself?

I once had an idea for a movie scene about the work of the presidency. From the point of view of an aide, you’d see the president backstage, behind a curtain, speaking urgently into a mobile phone. Then the curtain would part. The president would say “Hold on,” pass the phone to someone else in his entourage, and step out beyond the curtain. From backstage, you’d hear snatches of a speech to a group or an association. Applause. Then the president would step behind the curtain again, retrieve the phone, and resume his urgent conversation.

Being the president is a tough job. It’s the center of everything. It comes with a huge staff for a reason. Winging it is not a virtue.

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Believer in Multilateralism, Pursuer of Peace, and Genuinely Nice Guy: A Speechwriter for George H.W. Bush Reflects on His Legacy

By Reid Detchon on December 6, 2018

I was privileged to be George H.W. Bush’s chief speechwriter in his last year as Vice President, as he was beginning his 1988 campaign for the White House. He was self-effacing to a fault, having been raised not to brag or boast. He was so well trained and generous that his boyhood nickname was “Have half” – he was always willing to share. This was not a political asset, though: He was so adverse to self-praise that he would glide over applause lines in his speeches before the crowd could react.

As has been noted by many, he was very well prepared for the presidency. His experience as a 20-year-old combat pilot in World War II made him acutely aware of the cost of war in human lives – having seen his buddies lose theirs – and that made him very reluctant to commit U.S. troops to battle and determined to keep their exposure as short as possible.

Shaped by experience of the alliance that had won World War II, he was a great believer in teamwork, multilateralism, and the United Nations (having served as U.S. ambassador to the UN himself).

When he determined to reverse Saddam Hussein’s sudden invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the first major foreign policy test of his presidency, he delayed action until he had assembled a formidable global coalition of allies – 35 countries in all – and won the support of the UN Security Council for “all appropriate measures,” including the use of force.

Speaking to the Congress, which subsequently authorized the use of military force, President Bush said, “Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective – a new world order – can emerge: a new era – freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest for peace. An era in which the nations of the world, East and West, North and South, can prosper and live in harmony. … A world where the rule of law supplants the rule of the jungle. A world in which nations recognize the shared responsibility for freedom and justice. A world where the strong respect the rights of the weak.”

The 1991 military offensive on the ground was so decisive, it lasted only 100 hours. With the Iraqi military utterly destroyed by Operation Desert Storm, the U.S. could easily have captured Baghdad and ousted Saddam, but President Bush wisely refrained, mindful of Colin Powell’s “Pottery Barn” advice: “You break it, you own it.” He ordered allied forces to suspend offensive military operations.

He later wrote of that decision, “Trying to eliminate Saddam … would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. … We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. … Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations’ mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish.”

The last president to have served in combat, George H.W. Bush understood the importance of standing up to evil – but after seeing the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he also aspired to a “new world order” of cooperation and peace.

Most of all, he was a genuinely nice guy. Shortly after his inauguration, after I had gone to the Department of Energy, our daughter Julia was born, and I let his secretary know about this early product of his new administration. Sure enough, a note came right back, scribbled on Camp David notepaper, that said:

Dear Julia – You are 2 weeks old. How’s it feel? I want to work hard so you’ll grow up in a world at peace. Your Dad is my friend. Love, George Bush

*Reid Detchon is Senior Advisor for Climate Solutions at the United Nations Foundation.

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Inside Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson’s relationship with George W Bush as famed speechwriter dies at 58

• G.P. Rodriguez
• Published : 11:25 ET, Nov 17 2022
• Updated : 14:36 ET, Nov 17 2022

MICHAEL Gerson, who has died on Thursday at the age of 58, was one of the voices that helped craft former President George W Bush's rhetoric during some of the nation's pivotal moments.

The conservative speechwriter and Washington Post columnist passed away in Washington, D.C., due to complications with cancer, the paper reported.

Reacting to the news on Thursday, Bush said he was "heartbroken."

“He was a great writer, and I was fortunate he served as my chief speechwriter and a trusted advisor for many years,” Bush said.

“His brilliant mind was enhanced by his big heart. As a result, Mike harnessed the power of the pen to not just write about good policy, but drive it.”

Gerson gained national notoriety after he joined Bush's campaign in 1999. The two shared an evangelical Christian background, with Gerson infusing the former president's speeches with religion and morality themes.

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He worked on the Bush's first inauguratal speech, and also the one following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The famous Bush speech included the poignant phrase by Gerson: "[Our] responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.”

Gerson was behind the famous line where Bush pledged to end “the soft bigotry of low expectations” in the education of minority and low-income students.

He was also Bush's speechwriter during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, helping convince the public to support it.

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Following his time at  the White House until 2006, he moved to The Post, where he wrote about politics and  faith  in twice-weekly columns.

Gerson is the  author  of Heroic Conservatism (2007) and co-author of City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era (2010).

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While writing for The Post, he was open with readers about his ongoing struggles with  depression .

In one of his February 2019 columns, Gerson  wrote : “I have no doubt that I will eventually repeat the cycle of depression, but now I have some self-knowledge that can’t be taken away. I know that — when I’m in my right mind — I choose hope.”

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George W. Bush's top speechwriter is now calling for Trump's impeachment

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Another Republican has hopped on the impeachment train.

After the Mueller report detailed President Trump's failure to take what Michael Gerson calls "a criminal plot by a hostile foreign government" to the FBI, the chief speechwriter for former President George W. Bush writes that "House leaders should lay the groundwork for impeachment." This move strays from politics' usual goals of "partisanship" and "endless fundraising," Gerson continues in his Monday op-ed for The Washington Post, but adds that this choice will "echo across the decades."

As Gerson describes in the Post , Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report "shows that Trump and members of his campaign team were willing — actually, eager — to cooperate with Russian attempts to subvert a presidential election." Trump also "ordered subordinates to lie about their ties to the Russians," Gerson continues, going on to decry Attorney General William Barr for "provid[ing] cover for those deceptions." Yet Congress, Gerson writes, is "punting" its "responsibility" to hold Trump accountable for these actions. It's time for impeachment, Gerson finishes, because "the honor of the presidency now depends on the actions of Congress."

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Gerson has previously authored Post op-eds saying Trump is a "Russian stooge" and a "danger to democracy." But it ran just ahead of another Republican's call for impeachment , this one from former Trump transition staffer J.W. Verret, published Tuesday in The Atlantic . Verret was not a "Never Trumper," but opposed Trump on several policy points. And after reading the Mueller report twice, he reached a "tipping point" with Trump's leadership and said "Republicans in Congress" should have reached it too.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter .

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Harvard’s Institute of Politics Announces Fall 2024 Resident Fellows

Introduction

CAMBRIDGE, MA - The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School today announced the appointment of six Resident Fellows who will join the IOP for the Fall 2024 semester. The fellows bring diverse experience in politics, elected office, polling, journalism, and economic development to address the challenges facing our country and world today.

"We are thrilled to welcome this Fall's cohort of Resident Fellows to Harvard to engage and collaborate with our students and community, and to get their thoughts and insight in the final few months of this year's historic election. Their diverse experiences will no doubt inspire our students to consider careers in public service and prepare them to provide essential political leadership in the months and years ahead," said IOP Director Setti Warren .

"We are excited to have such a remarkable group of Fellows at the IOP this Fall. They bring varied perspectives on how to best approach some of our country's most consequential challenges, and I am confident our students will gain important insight into the fields of politics, civic engagement, journalism, and more," said Michael Nutter , Chair of the Institute of Politics' Senior Advisory Committee, and former Mayor of Philadelphia.

"We are thrilled to welcome the incredibly accomplished members of the 2024 Fall Fellows Cohort as we begin the fall semester prior to the incredibly important U.S. election. As we close out the 'biggest election year in history,' our world remains in the throes of a major period of democratic backsliding. American voters, including many Harvard students, will once again face the possibility of reactionary backsliding and threats to fundamental rights. Closer to home, we are keenly aware of the threats to free speech on campus. While this semester will bring renewed challenges to and debates concerning those fundamental rights, we are hopeful that study groups will remain a source of vibrant, productive, and gratifying discussions on Harvard's campus. In that spirit, this semester's cohort of Fellows will bring in critical perspectives from the varied worlds of governing, policymaking, polling, reporting, and campaigning to equip students with the tools necessary to create a better tomorrow. We are confident that this cohort of Fellows will help this program to remain a bastion of freedom of speech and civil discourse on Harvard's campus," said Éamon ÓCearúil ‘25 and Summer Tan ‘26 , Co-Chairs of the Fellows and Study Groups Program at the Institute of Politics.

IOP Resident Fellows are fully engaged with the Harvard community. They reside on campus, mentor a cohort of undergraduate students, hold weekly office hours, and lead an eight-week, not-for-credit study group based on their experience and expertise.

Fall 2024 Resident Fellows:

• Betsy Ankney: Former Campaign Manager, Nikki Haley for President
• John Anzalone: One of the nation's top pollsters and strategists, and founder of Impact Research, a public opinion research and consulting firm
• Alejandra Y. Castillo: Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development
• Asa Hutchinson: Former Governor of Arkansas and 2024 Presidential Candidate
• Brett Rosenberg: Former Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council and Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, Department of State
• Eugene Scott: Host at Axios Live, and former reporter who has spent two decades covering politics at the local, national and international level, including at the Washington Post and CNN

Brief bios and quotes can be found below. Headshots are available upon request.

Betsy Ankney Ankney is a political strategist with over 15 years of experience on tough campaigns. She has been involved in campaigns and Super PACs at the national and state level and played a role in some of the biggest upsets in Republican politics. She has been an advisor to Ambassador Nikki Haley since 2021, serving as Executive Director for Stand for America PAC and most recently as Campaign Manager for Nikki Haley for President. After starting with zero dollars in the bank and 2% in the polls, the campaign defied the odds, raised $80 million, and Nikki Haley emerged as the strongest challenger to Donald Trump. Ankney served as the Political Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 2020 cycle. She advised senate campaigns across the country, working directly with candidates and their campaigns on budgets, messaging, and fundraising. Prior to her work at the NRSC, Ankney managed multiple statewide campaigns, including Bruce Rauner for Governor in Illinois and Ron Johnson for Senate in Wisconsin. For her work on Ron Johnson’s race, she was named “Campaign Manager of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants for 2016. Ankney got her start in politics at the 2008 Republican National Convention and served in various roles at the Republican National Committee as well as on multiple campaigns and outside efforts. She serves on the boards of The Campaign School at Yale and The American Association of Political Consultants. She is from Toledo, Ohio and attended Vanderbilt University.

"I am honored to be a part of the fantastic program at the Harvard Institute of Politics. As we enter the final stretch of one of the wildest and most unpredictable election cycles in modern history, I look forward to having conversations in real time about our political process, what to look for, and why it matters." – Betsy Ankney

John Anzalone Anzalone is one of the nation’s top pollsters and messaging strategists. He has spent decades working on some of the toughest political campaigns in modern history and helping private-sector clients navigate complex challenges. He has polled for the past four presidential races, most recently serving as chief pollster for President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. In that role, he helped develop the messaging and strategy that drove paid communications, major policy rollouts, speeches, and convention thematics. He has also polled for the campaigns of President Obama and Hillary Clinton, and has helped elect U.S. senators, governors, and dozens of members of Congress. Anzalone works with governors across the country, including current Governors Gretchen Whitmer (MI) and Roy Cooper (NC). He polls regularly for the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Senate Majority PAC, and AARP. With more than 30 years of experience in message development and strategic execution, he has been called on by key decision-makers, executives, and CEOs to provide counsel in a changing world and marketplace. He has extensive experience using research and data to break down complex subjects into digestible messages that resonate with target audiences. He grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan, and graduated from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is married and has four children, two dogs, and lives in Watercolor, Florida.

"After a 40-year career in politics I am so excited to give back by sharing and mentoring politically active and curious students, but also to have an opportunity to learn from them myself. During the next three months we will be living the 2024 elections together in real time. There is nothing more exciting than that regardless of your political identity." – John Anzalone

Alejandra Y. Castillo The Honorable Alejandra Y. Castillo was nominated by President Biden and sworn in as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development on August 13, 2021, becoming the first women of color to hold this position. Ms. Castillo led the Economic Development Administration (EDA) between August 2021-2024 through an unprecedented moment of growth and opportunity. As the only federal agency focused exclusively on economic development, she guided EDA’s the implementation of over $6.8 billion dollars in federal funding, powering EDA and its mission to make transformational placed-based investments to support inclusive and equitable economic growth across America. Spanning over two decades of public service and non-profit work, she has served in three Presidential administrations --Biden, Obama and Clinton. Her career has also included a drive to shattering glass ceilings and providing inspiration to multiple generations of diverse leaders. Castillo is an active member in various civic and professional organizations, including the Hispanic National Bar Association, the American Constitution Society, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations. Castillo holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook; a M.A. in Public Policy from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin; and a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law. A native of Queens, NY., the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic.

"I am excited to join this Fall semester IOP Fellowship class and have the opportunity to engage with students and faculty members across the University. The IOP fellowship presents a great forum to discuss and evaluate the future of U.S. industrial strategy and economic growth in light of the historic federal investments in place-based economic development during the last three years. I am honored to join my colleagues in making this an exciting and informative semester for students." – Alejandra Y. Castillo

Asa Hutchinson Governor Asa Hutchinson is a former Republican candidate for President of the United States. He served as the 46th Governor of the State of Arkansas and in his last election, he was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, having received more votes than any other Republican candidate for governor in the State’s history. As a candidate for President, Hutchinson distinguished himself as an advocate for balancing the federal budget, energy production and enhanced border security. He also was a clear voice for the GOP to move away from the leadership of Donald Trump. Hutchinson’s time as governor is distinguished by his success in securing over $700 million per year in tax cuts, safeguarding the retirement pay of veterans from state income tax, shrinking the size of state government, creating over 100,000 new jobs and leading a national initiative to increase computer science education. The Governor’s career in public service began when President Ronald Reagan appointed him as the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation for the Western District of Arkansas. In 1996, he won the first of three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his third term in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed Governor Hutchinson to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later as the nation’s first Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Border Protection. He is a former Chairman of the National Governors. He grew up on a small farm near Gravette. He and his wife, Susan, have four children and seven grandchildren. Governor Hutchinson is currently CEO of Hutchinson Group LLC, a security consulting firm.

"After 8 years as Governor it is time to teach and mentor. I am honored to have the opportunity this fall to share my experiences and perspective but to also learn from the students and my colleagues who will also be resident fellows at the IOP. The timing is historic with our democracy facing a critical choice this fall as to the direction of our country." – Asa Hutchinson

Brett Rosenberg Rosenberg is a foreign policy expert who has served in the White House, Department of State, and Senate. During the Biden Administration, Rosenberg was the inaugural Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, President Biden’s and the G7’s flagship program designed to meet infrastructure needs in low- and middle-income countries. At the White House, Rosenberg served on the National Security Council as Director for Strategic Planning, working on shaping and realizing approaches to issues spanning from international economics to Western Hemisphere engagement, as well as helping to write the National Security Strategy. Prior to her service in the Biden administration, Rosenberg was Associate Director of Policy for National Security Action, where she remains a senior advisor. Rosenberg began her career in Washington as a legislative aide to then-Senator Kamala Harris, where she advised the senator on a range of domestic and economic policy issues. Rosenberg is a Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and her writing has appeared in outlets including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, and McSweeneys. She received her A.B. in History from Harvard College and her PhD (DPhil) in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

"What a privilege it is to be part of this incredible community in this incredible moment. I can't wait to learn from the students, faculty, and other fellows as we dive in together to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and the world." – Brett Rosenberg

Eugene Scott Eugene Scott is a host at Axios Live, where he travels the country interviewing political and policy leaders. He was previously a senior political reporter for Axios covering 2024 swing voters and voting rights. An award-winning journalist, Scott has spent two decades covering politics at the local, national and international levels. He was recently a national political reporter at The Washington Post focused on identity politics and the 2022 midterm election. Following the 2020 presidential election, he hosted “The Next Four Years,” then Amazon’s top original podcast. He also contributed to “FOUR HUNDRED SOULS: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019,” which topped the New York Times’ bestseller list. In addition to writing, Scott has regularly provided political analysis on MSNBC, CBS and NPR. Scott was a Washington Correspondent for CNN Politics during the 2016 election. And he began his newspaper career at the Cape Argus in Cape Town, South Africa not long after beginning his journalism career with BET News’ “Teen Summit.” Scott received his master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and his bachelor’s from the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media. He is a D.C. native and continues to live in the Nation’s Capital.

"Learning from and with the professionals that visited the IOP during my time on campus was one of the highlights of my time at the Kennedy School. I am eager to help lead students in understanding the press and this country as we navigate the final weeks of arguably the most consequential election of our time." – Eugene Scott

Additional information can be found here .

About the Institute of Politics Fellows Program The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School was established in 1966 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. The Institute’s mission is to unite and engage students, particularly undergraduates, with academics, politicians, activists, and policymakers on a non-partisan basis to inspire them to pursue pathways in politics and public service. The Institute blends the academic with practical politics and offers students the opportunity to engage in current events and to acquire skills and perspectives that will assist in their postgraduate pathways.

The Fellows Program has stood as the cornerstone of the IOP, encouraging student interest in public service and increasing the interaction between the academic and political communities. Through the Fellows Program, the Institute aims to provide students with the opportunity to learn from experienced public servants, the space to engage in civil discourse, and the chance to acquire a more holistic and pragmatic view of our political world.

For more information on the fellowship program, including a full list of former fellows, visit: iop.harvard.edu  

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