Joe Lockhart, who served as press secretary to former President Bill Clinton, offered some advice to the person who will serve as the top spokesman for a Biden White House.
“The ability to be a trusted messenger for the president needs to be earned,” Lockhart wrote in a CNN op-ed published over the weekend. “And it’s earned by telling the truth even when it’s difficult and damaging to your team’s interests.”
Lockhart reflected on his own time serving as Clinton’s top spokesman from 1998 to 2000 and the challenges he faced when the former president’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky came to light and the impeachment in the House that followed.
He took a swipe at the press secretaries who served under President Trump.
“When President Clinton was impeached for obstruction of justice and perjury, over his affair with a White House intern, I was forced to concede major elements of the story as true — objective truth — despite the damage it did to the President,” Lockhart said. “If this happened today, Trump’s representatives would say the DNA test was rigged and the internet would be flooded with headlines: ‘It was some other dude’s DNA.'”
Trump has had four press secretaries since 2017, including Sean Spicer, Sarah Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and currently, Kayleigh McEnany, and Lockhart argued they have denigrated the role with a constant stream of lies as they pushed back against what they deemed “fake news.”
“The administration’s chronic lying has divided Americans, degraded their trust in government, and, worst of all, turned facts and evidence into slippery instruments of partisan politics,” Lockhart said.
“Truth now comes in two varieties: Republican and Democratic. This is shaking the foundation of our democracy,” Lockhart said.
President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly set to bring back the daily press briefing and is considering either Kate Bedingfield or Symone Sanders, both top campaign officials, for the post.
