There’s nothing like delicious First Family gossip.
That was the feeling we left had after hearing reporter Bonnie Angelo speak about her tell-all book, “First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives” where she shared all her scandalous stories of first families throughout the history of the White House at the National Reserves building Thursday. Some of our favorites include:
- Barbara Bush scolded the Bush twins after they snuck into the White House bowling alley.
- Harry Truman called the White House the “Great White Jail.”
- Margaret Truman hated to kiss dates goodnight under the watch of flood lights and secret service officers.
- The laws Jackie Kennedy put in place to make sure the interior design of the White House stayed historic and how people said she was a “pill to cover.”
The most scandalous though were the stories of Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice, who was said to have brought her pet snake Emily around to parties and cavorted with many suitors. Her father even commented that she was so wild, he “Could either run the country or attend to Alice, but I cannot possibly do both.” Angelo even said that a raving man once showed up, banging on the door of the White House screaming to marry Alice.
