White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

President Obama to Netflix Spokesman Confirms Conversations with Barack and Michelle Obama

By

The New York Times has exclusive reporting on conversations between President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, to join Netflix. “Former President Barack Obama is in advanced negotiations with Netflix to produce a series of high-profile shows that will provide him a global platform after his departure from the White House, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Under terms of a proposed deal, which is not yet final, Netflix would pay Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, for exclusive content that would be available only on the streaming service, which has nearly 118 million subscribers around the world. The number of episodes and the formats for the shows have not been decided.

Mr. Obama does not intend to use his Netflix shows to directly respond to President Trump or conservative critics, according to people familiar with discussions about the programming. They said the Obamas had talked about producing shows that highlight inspirational stories.

But the Netflix deal, while not a direct answer to Fox News or Breitbart.com, would give Mr. Obama an unfiltered method of communication with the public similar to the audiences he already reaches through social media, with 101 million Twitter followers and 55 million people who have liked his Facebook page.”

“President and Mrs. Obama have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire,” Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to the former president, said Thursday. “Throughout their lives, they have lifted up stories of people whose efforts to make a difference are quietly changing As they consider their future personal plans, they continue to explore new ways to help others tell and share their stories.”

Read the rest here.

NYU’s Mitchell Moss: Scorn from NYC’s Elites Fueled Donald Trump’s Presidential Ambitions

By

Mitchell Moss, NYU’s Henry Hart Rice Professor of Urban Policy & Planning, Director of Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, Photo Courtesy of NYU

 

In an op-ed for Zocalo Public Square on February 6th, Mitchell Moss, the head of New York University’s Director of Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, writes that Donald Trump’s political ambitions were fueled by the resentment and disdain he received from elite New York social circles.

Moss claims that Trump, the son of a Queens real estate developer, was met with derision due to his harsh style and lack of credentials or business acumen as he began developing real estate properties in Manhattan. Moss writes, “His failure to make it into the upper echelon of New York’s business community is what drove him to run for president, and that, “Trump didn’t care about being right or smart or ethical, only about being known.”

This contempt on behalf of New York’s business and philanthropic communities, Moss claims, led Trump to seek attention in the city’s tabloid papers. According to Moss, New York papers “Loved to feature Trump, in stories about his three marriages and his calls for proof of President Obama’s birth. The front page of the New York Post is the equivalent of a daily billboard, which the local radio and television news programs treat as raw material for their evening programs. Trump was a master at getting the New York Post to cover his words, his wives, and his fights with Ed Koch and Barack Obama. He became famous as someone New Yorkers loved to ridicule.”

Now that Trump’s political ambitions have paid off, “News reports now have him marveling that New Yorkers who once wouldn’t give him the time of day—like the former Goldman Sachs chieftain Gary Cohn—now work for him.”

 

Trump to Meet With Barack Obama in the White House as Transition of Power Begins

By


President Barack Obama is set to welcome President-elect Donald Trump into the White House as the transition process beings in Washington. It will be their first face-to-face meeting ever. Vice President-elect Mike Pence will be meeting with Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama will also meet with her successor, Melania Trump.

Donald Trump and his running mate will begin receiving daily Presidential briefings and vetting cabinet appointees as well as Supreme Court nominees. The transition efforts follow the most contentious presidential campaign in modern times and tensions are sure to be high. Obama and Trump have traded jabs throughout the years. It remains to be seen how smooth the transition effort will be, given the rivalry. Trump will assume office on January 20th.

Volta Insider: Barack Obama’s Democratic Convention Swan Song

By

IMG_9815

Barack Obama addresses the Democratic National Convention, Photo Courtesy Volta Insider

Barack Obama is an incredibly impressive orator. He speaks with grace and power, his words suffused with purpose. He has mastered a voice that exerts both authority and emotion without pontificating. There is an honesty in his cadence that slightly resembles that of Bill Clinton, a speech delivered in a style that isn’t really a speech, but more of a conversation. That night, President Obama and the American people had a conversation about something our President knows quite a bit about, the audacity of hope. And trust me, there wasn’t a dry eye in the entire arena.

I was enamored by his remarks, but it wasn’t until the crowd resurrected the famous slogan “YES WE CAN” that I was deeply affected. It was within those seconds I was, as Fitzgerald writes, “…within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”

I was transported eight years back, to television clips of people shouting “YES WE CAN” in massive crowds. Struck with the absoluteness of the change he has brought about and the love the American people share with him because of it.

“Time and again, you’ve picked me up. And I hope, sometimes, I picked you up, too. And tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me. Because you’re who I was talking about 12 years ago when I talked about hope. It’s been you who fueled my dogged faith in our future, even when the odds were great; even when the road is long. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope.”

I knew then why Barack Obama had won back in 2008. Fear is subjective, but hope is indefinite. I looked down towards the stage, at the side of his face and the corner of the podium. Compelled by the sadness in his stance that lifted a little bit in each word he spoke and the arena got smaller and smaller. As if there were not millions of people behind those big black cameras scattered among skyboxes. That speech was a love letter to this country. If Shakespeare wrote speeches for the King of England, it would probably sound something like what we heard that night. 46 stunning minutes when all I could think was: that’s my president.

ZIGNAL LABS REPORTS: Obama’s SOTU Draws Massive Twitter Response

By

President Obama delivered his final State of the Union address on Tuesday and drew a massive response on Twitter. Zignal’s software tracked nearly one million mentions for the President during the speech.

image

According to Zignal, twitter mentions for the address peaked around 6:30 to 7pm, towards the end of the President’s speech:

image(1)

Most of the top tweets of the night came from Obama’s official account, though satirical news site The Onion’s tweet also went viral:

Screen Shot 2016-01-12 at 7.22.42 PM

White House Continues Trend of Referencing Mean Girls

By

Once again, it seems like the White House made a Mean Girls reference.

The 2004 comedy staring Lindsay Lohan, who we’re aware is something of a Washington sparklie, is ripe for referencing inside the Beltway. In a tweet sent out by the official White House account, Bo is the culprit in this recent attempt to reference the lack of fetch ever happening. But who’s the real culprit?

Mean Girls has been a subtle staple inside the Obama media team since the 2012 re-election campaign. A gif here, a(n unofficial) quickmeme template there and a random Ann Coulter reference that makes us think she’s never seen the film. But Mean Girls is essential when dissecting Washington, especially in gif form. Could this be a sign of DoJ fighting the American Airlines/U.S. Airways merger? Proof of Cronut coming to D.C.? Or worse–nothing at all except a brief tweet on a Tuesday?

No word when the administration will start using The Canyons as a talking point.

Washington Women in Technology Network Welcome Bloomberg's Jonathan Alter

By

IMG_5034

Jonathan Alter, author of the first 2012 campaign book “The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies,” came to the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C. to meet with the Washington Women in Technology Network.

Alter went into stories not reported as in-depth outside of Washington. He discussed how the Romney campaign rejected strategies from a top Republican digital expert. He went in depth into anecdotes about both campaigns; their competing digital strategies and offered to have readers call him out on events–like he was on Friday by Fox’s Roger Ailes in Politico.

Speaking to a luncheon co-hosted by Hilary Rosen, Becky Fischer-Martin, Constance Milstein, Holly Page and Kim Kinglsey. Guests included Facebook’s Marne Levine and Sarah Feinberg, Regina Hopper, Kelley McCormick, Emily Goodin, Stephanie Green and Kim Kingsley.

The full interview below:

You can see more photos from Monday’s luncheon here:

Obama to Nominate Dan Tangherlini to Admin of GSA

By

A little more than a year later and President Barack Obama annoucned today his plan to nominate Acting Director Dan Tangherlini as the Administrator of the General Services Administration.

Having served in his current role since last April, Tangherlini is a former CFO from the Department of Treasury, a D.C. City Administrator and Deputy Mayor under former Mayor Adrian Fenty from ’06 to ’09. In a statement released today, the president said “As Acting Director, Dan helped restore the trust of the American people in the General Services Administration by making the agency more efficient, accountable and transparent. I want to thank Dan for his leadership over the past year and for agreeing to continue serving in the Administration.”

Which is well and good since Tangherlini is known for slashing spending at GSA after the previous Administrator was admonished for a Las Vegas trip. His other claim to fame involves the oversight to sell off the J. Edgar Hoover building in Downtown Washington. But it isn’t that hard for Tangherlini, who is a local favorite when it comes to dealing with D.C. Proper Government and Federal Government.

Fingers crossed he can figure out a way to keep Washington from losing track of what’s structurally important: more Bike Shares and dogs and cats on Amtrak.

Capricia Marshall To Leave State Dept. By End of Summer

By

Capricia Marshall, Cheryl Mills and Chelsea Clinton

Capricia Marshall is out of the newly-minted John Kerry State Department sometime at the end of the summer. Speaking to the Reliable Source on Monday, the soon-to-be-former-Chief-of-Protocol issued a non-offcial announcement and reminded readers that she’s a long-time member of Hillary Clinton‘s team. She’s spent the last 20 years working for the former Secretary of State, and may join her depending on decisions for the 2016 race with this kicker to the Source: “If she decides to run, I’ll be behind her 100 percent.”

Well, as everyone in D.C. knows–even Presidents on the campaign trail–just be careful to watch where you’re running before you follow someone down there.

Returning To Normal, White House Announces Science Fair 2013

By

After last week’s events, a return to teaching fundamentals has to be a good thing. President Obama hosts the White House Science Fair today which focuses on core programs like science, technology, engineering and math or STEM. The program will focus as a springboard for his new “Educate to Inovcate” campaign which the White House Press Office describes as “an all-hands-on-deck effort to get more girls and boys inspired to excel in these key subjects.”

“When students excel in math and science, they help America compete for the jobs and industries of the future,” said President Obama in a statement. “That’s why I’m proud to celebrate outstanding students at the White House Science Fair, and to announce new steps my Administration and its partners are taking to help more young people succeed in these critical subjects.”

And just what are the next generation of scientists working on? There’s a $250 prosthetic arm that’s cheap thanks to 3D printing; cooling pads for athletes and even “crowdsourcing” cancer detection. The selection runs the entire spectrum of STEM and showcase what the White House is hoping to promote through the Innovate campaign.

“If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you’re a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too,” the President’s statement said.

In the meantime, check out the video of President Obama and a marshmallow gun from last year.