White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

Archives for April 2015

Trail Talk: Beau Willimon on Power in Washington and Hillary’s Candidacy

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listen to ‘TRAIL TALK Episode One: Sen. Lindsey Graham and HOUSE OF CARDS' Beau Willimon’ on audioBoom

For the inaugural episode of Trail Talk, Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin spoke with Beau Willimon, screenwriter and show runner of the Netflix hit political thriller, HOUSE OF CARDS. Following are excerpts of his interview where he discusses the power game in Washington, D.C. and shares his impressions of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign rollout.

POWER IN WASHINGTON
“I think one major truth about politics is that no form of power is absolute. Even if you become the president of the United States, the most powerful man or woman in the Free World, that power comes with limitations, with constraints, with pressures. You may, even if you’re elected, and Francis Underwood wasn’t, you may have a mandate but you still have to work with Congress; you still have to rely on allies; you still have to contend with enemies, and the popular will can shift on a dime. So any president faces these sort of dilemmas, even if they’ve, you know, assumed office with a great deal of popular support behind them. We’ve seen that a number of times in the past few decades, and how quickly that good will can shift.”

ON HILLARY CLINTON’S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
“I’m a huge fan of Hillary Clinton. I worked a little bit on her first Senate campaign. A lot of my friends have worked for both the Clintons and all of those that worked for Hillary Clinton adore her. I was a big supporter of hers in 2008. She was my senator. I also loved Barack Obama a lot, and I thought for the first time in ages we had an embarrassment of riches in the Democratic Party, where either one of the two major candidates would have made for a good president.

“I’m very biased, you know. I am rooting for Hillary Clinton. I had thought she’d make a good president then and I still believe she’d make a good president now.

“In terms of the rollout itself, I thought it was well done. I really respect the fact that she’s taking nothing for granted, that she’s going to go out and pound the pavement and shake the hands and kiss the babies in New Hampshire and Iowa, if that’s what it takes out there, and, I think there’s a degree of confidence in her campaign but also a degree of humility. And that combination, in the right balance is what we look for in our candidate.”

Listen to the full podcast on AudioBoom or iTunes.

WHCD Garden Brunch Supports Veterans

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The 2015 Annual Garden Brunch on the morning of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner once again brought a parade of Hollywood elite and celebrities to gather and mingle before primping for the dinner, but all for a good cause. This year’s beneficiaries, Dog Tag Bakery and Blue Star Families are both groups created for the benefit of veterans and their family members. Video courtesy of Hollywood on the Potomac.

Tommy McFly at the 2015 Garden Brunch

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During his coverage of the 2015 White House Correspondents Garden Brunch, Tommy McFly featured the two organizations that were honored at the event, Dog Tag Bakery and Blue Star Families. He also spoke with Tara Lipinski who shared her thoughts on Washington style!

Bloomberg Vanity Fair Party at 2015 WHCD

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The conversations continued into the very early morning at the Bloomberg Vanity Fair party at the French Ambassador’s residence. Attendees included Elon Musk; Obama administration cabinet officials Ash Carter, Shaun Donovan and John Brennan; stars of Washington inspired TV shows, Carla Gugino and Aasif Mandvi from the upcoming HBO comedy series, The Brink, and Constance Zimmer and Michael Kelly from House of Cards; and television stars Connie Britton and Gina Rodriguez.

Washington guests were Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and husband Paul, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, RNC Chairman Reince Preibus and wife, Sally, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and speechwriter David Litt, and former Obama speechwriters Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett. Media guests included Andrea Mitchell, Ronan Farrow, Maureen Dowd, Fred Ryan, and Bret Baier. Also in attendance were Samantha Power, Susan Rice, Valerie Jarrett, Heather Podesta, Tammy Haddad, Marc Adelman and Liz Robbins.

View photos of all the action at the Bloomberg Vanity Fair Party after the 2015 White House Correspondents Dinner.

2015 White House Correspondents Garden Brunch Coverage

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Taya Kyle honored at 2015 Garden Brunch benefiting veterans, military families
“The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is coming up tonight, but things kicked off earlier Saturday in Washington with the 2015 Garden Brunch, which benefits both Blue Star Families and Dog Tag Bakery. Among the honored guests was Taya Kyle, widow of “American Sniper” Chris Kyle, who spoke briefly about the benefits of hiring veterans.”

Political TV Takes the Spotlight at Garden Brunch
“Media figures like Katie Couric, Chris Matthews and Jake Tapper were in the mix with political and legal figures like attorney Ted Olson and FCC chairman Tom Wheeler or showbiz figures like Norman Reedus, Sophie Turner and Alfre Woodard.”

White House Correspondents’ dinner: Hollywood stars dish at D.C. brunch
“The celebrities that swarmed Washington, D.C. this weekend for the dinner weren’t always stuck discussing politics though during the party-filled weekend that brings together the two worlds of entertainment and politics — a weekend where Tammy Haddad, the brunch’s host, said she witnessed National Security Advisor Susan Rice riding in a golf cart with “Homeland”‘s Rupert Friend, who plays a CIA operative in the show.”

White House Correspondents’ Dinner: Tara Lipinski Is Prepared for Anything
“This year, the event has finally put Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead and presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett in the same room.”

Worlds collide at the pre-correspondents’ dinner ‘garden brunch’
“When we said “mashups,” we meant that quite literally. The crowd was so dense that one barely had time to register the VIPs among the cheek-to-jowl throngs. Spotted in the mob: “Scandal” actress Darby Stanchfield, top White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, Tim Daly of “Madam Secretary,” outgoing White House social secretary Jeremy Bernard, CBS “This Morning” co-host Gayle King and “Veep” actor Timothy Simons.”