Two of former President Obama’s top speechwriters have come down hard on President Trump’s speeches and speaking style and are urging him to stop “riffing” and try writing down his thoughts.
“I don’t think it’s a great idea to just get up there and riff when you have no idea what you’re talking about,” chief Obama speechwriter Cody Keenan told a Harvard University forum Wednesday night.
“He’s certainly not the first person to try to wear the mantle of populism and riff from whatever comes to his mind,” said Keenan.
“But I also don’t think it’s a harbinger of a new age. I think there are really lots of good people in politics who are thoughtful and deep and compassionate about their beliefs. The reason we write things down is to organize our ideas in a fluid way. I would recommend that the president do that,” he said to applause.
Fellow Obama alum Sarah Hurwitz, who penned many of former first lady Michelle Obama’s speeches, agreed, then added, “I also think that there is a misunderstanding that if you’re riffing, saying the first random thing that comes to your mind, you’re somehow more authentic.”
The event was hosted by the Harvard’s Institute of Politics and moderated by Ann Compton, an Institute fellow and former ABC News White House correspondent.
Compton ended the forum by asking the speechwriters, which also included former Bush aide John McConnell, to cite the worst speech they’ve ever heard.
Only Hurwitz complied.
“Trump’s Inaugural was an example for me,” she said. “This one was dark, it was negative, it was frightening, I didn’t think it really brought us together, I didn’t think it articulated core American values, and that to me was a serious miss.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
