A White House Debriefing
Former White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest discusses his experiences behind the podium
It’s been fewer than two months since the executive torch was passed from Obama to Trump, and while the differences between the two administrations have been stark on many levels, nowhere has the divide been more evident than in their respective handling of the news media.
While the responsibility for these changes ultimately lies with the president, no one has been more publicly associated with them than White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
Of course, there’s nothing new about the press corps taking issue with an administration’s chief spokesman. And few know that as intimately as this week’s guest, Josh Earnest.
Earnest served as the White House Press Secretary for the final three years of the Obama administration and came to HKS for a JFK Jr. Forum event sponsored by the Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership.
In this week’s episode, Earnest gives a behind the scenes look at several key moments in Obama’s second term, including when ISIS overtook the Iraqi city of Mosul, the accidental killing of an American hostage in a US counterterrorism operation, and Hillary Clinton’s surprise loss on election night in 2016. He also gives his assessment of the Trump administration’s handling of the press, and offers some advice for his successors.
HKS PolicyCast is the official podcast of Harvard Kennedy School, featuring weekly interviews with scholars and leading practitioners in public policy, leadership, and international affairs. It is hosted by filmmaker, writer, and policy wonk Matt Cadwallader.
