Robert Gibbs

For the American ichthyologist, see Robert Henry Gibbs.

Robert Gibbs


27th White House Press Secretary
In office January 20, 2009 – February 11, 2011
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Jen Psaki Bill Burton
Preceded by	Dana Perino
Succeeded by	Jay Carney
Personal details
Born	Robert Lane Gibbs (1971-03-29) March 29, 1971 Auburn, Alabama, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	North Carolina State University

Robert Lane Gibbs (born March 29, 1971) is the Executive Vice President and Global Chief Communications officer of McDonalds, Inc.

As the Executive Vice President, Gibbs is the chief of McDonalds public relations efforts.^[1] Before McDonalds, Gibbs was an American political advisor and commentator who served as the 28th White House Press Secretary during the first term of Barack Obama's presidency.^[2] Gibbs had worked with Obama since 2004 and previously served as the communications director for then-Senator Obama and his campaign during the 2008 presidential election. He later served as a senior campaign adviser for Obama's campaign during the 2012 presidential election.^[3]

Prior to becoming a member of the Obama team he was press secretary for John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign and was a part of several Senate campaigns, having served as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and for four individual Senate campaigns, including those of Obama in 2004 and Fritz Hollings in 1998.^[4] Gibbs was also the press secretary of Representative Bob Etheridge.^[5] Gibbs was announced as the press secretary for President Obama on November 22, 2008,^[6] and officially assumed the role on January 20, 2009, giving his first official briefing on January 22.

On January 5, 2011, Gibbs announced that he would leave the White House to become an outside adviser to the administration. He formally left the position on February 11, 2011. On February 12, 2013, it was announced that Gibbs had been hired as a contributor for cable-news channel MSNBC. His first appearance was on the same night prior to the 2013 State Of The Union Address. In June 2013 it was announced that Gibbs became a founding partner of a new strategic communications practice called The Incite Agency,^[7] which he co-founded.

Early Life and Education

Gibbs was born in Auburn, Alabama.^[8] His parents, Nancy Jean (née Lane) and Robert Coleman Gibbs, worked in the Auburn University library system and involved their son in politics at an early age.^[2]^[9]^[10] Nancy Gibbs would take Robert, then known as "Bobby," to local League of Women Voters meetings rather than hire a babysitter, and involved him in "voter re-identification" work at the county courthouse.^[11] Gibbs attended Auburn City Schools and Auburn High School.^[8] At Auburn High, Gibbs played saxophone in the Auburn High School Band, was a goalkeeper on the Tigers' soccer team, and participated in the school's debate squad. Gibbs graduated from Auburn High in 1989,^[12] in the same class as novelist Ace Atkins and LEGO artist Eric Harshbarger.

Gibbs went on to attend North Carolina State University, serving as goalkeeper for the North Carolina State Wolfpack soccer team from 1990 to 1992.^[13] Gibbs graduated from North Carolina State cum laude with a B.A. in political science in 1993.^[5]

Career

While a student at North Carolina State in 1991, Gibbs became an intern for Alabama's 3rd congressional district Congressman Glen Browder. Gibbs quickly rose through the ranks of Browder's staff, rising to become the representative's executive assistant in Washington, D.C. Gibbs returned to Alabama in 1996 to work on Browder's unsuccessful Senate campaign that year.^[11] In 1997, Gibbs was press secretary for Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina and, in 1998, was spokesman for Senator Fritz Hollings' successful re-election campaign.^[5] Gibbs worked in the campaigns of two other senators and served as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, before taking the position of press secretary of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.^[5]

In 2015 Gibbs became the Chief Communications Officer for McDonald's ^[14]Restaurant.

U.S. presidential election, 2004

Early in the 2004 presidential campaign, Gibbs was the press secretary of Democratic candidate Senator John Kerry. On November 11, 2003, Gibbs resigned "in reaction to the firing of Jim Jordan, abruptly let go by Kerry Sunday night."^[15] Gibbs was replaced by Stephanie Cutter, a former spokeswoman for Ted Kennedy. After leaving the Kerry campaign, Gibbs became spokesman for a 527 political group formed to stop the 2004 presidential campaign of Howard Dean which launched attack ads against Dean.^[16] Gibbs was criticized in February 2007, during the Obama Presidential campaign, by some left leaning bloggers.^[17]

Adviser to Barack Obama

Gibbs joined Barack Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign as communications director in mid-April 2004^[18] and remained with the senator through the first two years of Obama's term. Gibbs is credited with guiding Obama through those first years and molding his rise on the national scene. According to The New York Times, Gibbs advised Obama on politics, strategy and messaging, and spent more time with Obama than any other advisor.^[3]

U.S. presidential election, 2008

Barack Obama at a rally in Hartford, CT on February 4, 2008

The appointment of Gibbs by Obama to the post of communications chief was met with mild controversy by some critics in the Democratic National Committee, who cited Gibbs' role in the aggressive campaign tactics used to block the nomination of Howard Dean in the 2004 race. Obama, however, referred to Gibbs as his "one-person Southern focus group" and welcomed him as part of his close-knit team that included strategist David Axelrod, campaign director David Plouffe, and research director Devorah Adler. In his communications role, Gibbs became known as "the enforcer" because of his aggressive rapid-response methods for countering disinformation tactics from opponents. Gibbs assumed responsibility for "shaping the campaign message, responding to the 24/7 news cycle, schmoozing with the press and fighting back when he disagree[d] with its reporting."^[19] As the chief intermediary between the Obama campaign and the press, Gibbs sought to counter the Republican National Committee's opposition research tactics against Obama in early 2007.^[20]

Gibbs adopted a policy of rapid response to claims by conservative news outlets that questioned Obama's religious upbringing. In response to the "Obama is a Muslim" meme suggested by these claims, Gibbs disseminated information to other news networks that Obama is not nor has ever been Muslim. At the time, Gibbs said, "These malicious, irresponsible charges are precisely the kind of politics the American people have grown tired of."^[21]

After comments by George W. Bush to the Israeli Knesset questioning Obama's foreign policy platform's focus on international diplomacy, Gibbs responded, calling Bush's comments "astonishing" and "an unprecedented attack on foreign soil." Gibbs argued that Bush's policy amounted to "cowboy diplomacy" that had been discounted by Bush's own Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and quoted with Gates' own words: "We need to figure out a way to develop some leverage ... and then sit down and talk...if there is going to be a discussion, then they need something, too. We can't go to a discussion and be completely the demander, with them not feeling that they need anything from us."^[22]

He was widely blamed by news media executives for "holding hostage" reporters, while Obama and Hillary Clinton met for the first time after a heavily-contested Democratic primary season. He countered back, “It wasn't an attempt to deceive in any way ... It was just private meetings.”^[20]

White House Press Secretary

Obama and Gibbs in the conference room of Air Force One in July 2009

On November 22, 2008, it was announced by the Obama Transition Team that Gibbs would be the White House Press Secretary for the Obama administration.^[6] He assumed the role of press secretary on January 20, 2009, and gave his first official briefing on January 22.

In an interview with The Hill, Gibbs derided the “professional left” and "liberals," who “wouldn’t be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president.” He said that people who compare Obama's policies to George W. Bush's "ought to be drug tested.” ^[23]

Gibbs stirred controversy when he stated that the drone killing of 16-year-old son of Anwar al-Awlaki was justified, and that the boy "should [have] had a more responsible father."^[24]^[25]

Personal life

Gibbs is married to Mary Catherine Gibbs, an attorney, and lives in Alexandria, Virginia with their son, Ethan.^[19] His parents live in Apex, North Carolina, where his mother Nancy is acquisitions director for Duke University Libraries.^[11]

References

↑ Smith, Aaron (9 June 2015). "McDonald's hires former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs". CNN. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
1 2 Lowy, Joan (22 November 2008). "N.C. State grad tapped as Obama's press secretary". WRAL.com. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
1 2 Zeleny, Jeff (6 November 2008). "Robert Gibbs" (Series). The New Team. The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
↑ Cillizza, Chris (16 January 2007). "Barack Obama's Impressive Team" (Blog). The Fix. The Washington Post. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
1 2 3 4 Morrill, Jim; Funk, Tim (9 October 2003). "Carolinas ties key in national campaigns". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
1 2 change.gov (22 November 2008). "White House Communications and Press Secretary positions announced" (Press release). Newsroom. Office of the President-elect. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
↑ "Ex-Obama spokesmen Gibbs, LaBolt launch new practice". washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. 13 June 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
1 2 Yen, Hope (22 November 2008). "Obama names longtime spokesman Gibbs press chief". Associated Press. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
↑ Kochak, Jacque (6 November 2008). "What's next for Robert Gibbs?". The Auburn Villager. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
↑ "robert gibbs".
1 2 3 Rawls, Phillip (7 November 2008). "Obama spokesman, likely press secretary from Ala.". Opelika-Auburn News. Associated Press. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
↑ Armistead, Trey (1986–1987). "Auburn High School Band – Members 1986–87" (Website). Auburn High School Band. Auburn City Schools. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
↑ Barett, Barbara (6 November 2008). "NC's Robert Gibbs may be Obama press secretary" (Article). Politics. McClatchy Newspapers. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
↑ "Robert Gibbs joins McDonald's".
↑ Wire reports in Tuscaloosa News of 12 November, 2003 as of 13 April 2010
↑ Rutenberg, Jim (16 December 2003). "New Democratic Group Finances a Republican-like Attack on Dean" (Series). The 2004 Campaign. The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
↑ Akers, Mary Ann (23 February 2007). "Bloggers Blast Obama Spokesman" (Blog). The Sleuth Blog. The Washington Post. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
↑ Krol, Eric; Patterson, John (26 April 2004). "Campaign notebook". Daily Herald. p. 11. Retrieved April 9, 2009. Tidbits: Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Barack Obama has hired a new director of communications. Robert Gibbs came to Illinois last week.
1 2 Langley, Monica (28 August 2008). "Meet Obama's Media 'Enforcer'" (Article). Politics. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
1 2 Budoff Brown, Carrie (6 November 2008). "Little shock in selection of Gibbs" (Blog). Politics '08. The Politico. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
↑ Phillips, Kate (24 January 2007). "Obama's Religion and Schooling" (Blog). The Caucus. The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
↑ Phillips, Kate (15 May 2008). "Bush's Remarks in Israel Rile Obama" (Blog). The Caucus. The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
↑ "Liberals still steamed at Robert Gibbs – Kendra Marr and Abby Phillip". Politico. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
↑ Grim, Ryan (24 October 2012). "Teen Killed In U.S. Drone Strike Should Have 'More Responsible Father,' Obama Campaign Official Says". Huffington Post.
↑ Friedersdorf, Conor. "How Team Obama Justifies the Killing of a 16-Year-Old American".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Gibbs.

White House Briefing Room
Appearances on C-SPAN
The Many Faces of Robert Gibbs – slideshow by Life magazine
"Robert Gibbs collected news and commentary". The New York Times.
Works by or about Robert Gibbs in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Profile at SourceWatch
Monica Langley, "Meet Obama's Media 'Enforcer'", Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2008.
Biography and News

Political offices
Preceded by Dana Perino	White House Press Secretary 2009–2011	Succeeded by Jay Carney

Obama Administration personnel

Cabinet and cabinet-level

Office	Name	Term	Office	Name	Term
Secretary of State	John Kerry	2013–	Secretary of Treasury	Jack Lew	2013–
Secretary of Defense	Ashton Carter	2015–	Attorney General	Loretta Lynch	2015–
Secretary of the Interior	Sally Jewell	2013–	Secretary of Agriculture	Tom Vilsack	2009–
Secretary of Commerce	Penny Pritzker	2013–	Secretary of Labor	Thomas Perez	2013–
Secretary of Health and Human Services	Sylvia Mathews Burwell	2014–	Secretary of Education Secretary of Transportation	Arne Duncan Anthony Foxx	2009– 2013–
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Julian Castro	2014–	Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Robert A. McDonald	2014–
Secretary of Energy	Ernest Moniz	2013–	Secretary of Homeland Security	Jeh Johnson	2013–

Vice President	Joe Biden	2009–	White House Chief of Staff	Denis McDonough	2013–
Director of the Office of Management and Budget	Shaun Donovan	2014–	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	Gina McCarthy	2013–
Ambassador to the United Nations	Samantha Power	2013–	Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers	Jason Furman	2013–
Trade Representative	Michael Froman	2013–	Administrator of the Small Business Administration	Maria Contreras-Sweet	2014–

Below solid line: Granted Cabinet rank although not automatically part of the Cabinet. See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet

Executive Office of the President

Office	Name	Term	Office	Name	Term
White House Chief of Staff White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy	Rahm Emanuel Pete Rouse William M. Daley Jack Lew Denis McDonough Mona Sutphen Nancy-Ann DeParle Rob Nabors	2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013– 2009–11 2011–13 2013–15	National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan	Jim Jones Thomas E. Donilon Susan Rice Thomas E. Donilon Denis McDonough Tony Blinken Avril Haines Douglas Lute^†	2009–10 2010–13 2013– 2009–10 2010–13 2013–14 2015– 2009–13
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations	Jim Messina Alyssa Mastromonaco Anita Decker Breckenridge	2009–11 2011–14 2014–	Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security	Ben Rhodes John O. Brennan Lisa Monaco	2009– 2009–13 2013–
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning	Mark B. Childress Kristie Canegallo	2012–14 2014–	Deputy National Security Advisor and NSC Chief of Staff	Denis McDonough Brooke Anderson	2009–10 2011–12
Senior Advisor to the President	David Axelrod David Plouffe Daniel Pfeiffer Shailagh Murray	2009–11 2011–13 2013–15 2015–	White House Communications Director	Anita Dunn Daniel Pfeiffer Jennifer Palmieri Jen Psaki	2009 2009–13 2013–15 2015–
Senior Advisor to the President Counselor to the President	Pete Rouse Brian Deese Pete Rouse John Podesta	2009–10 2015– 2011–13 2014–15	Deputy White House Communications Director	Jen Psaki Jennifer Palmieri Amy Brundage	2009–11 2011–14 2014–15
Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Director of Public Engagement Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Director, National Economic Council	Valerie Jarrett Christina Tchen Jon Carson Paulette Aniskoff Cecilia Muñoz David Agnew Jerry Abramson Lawrence Summers Gene Sperling Jeffrey Zients	2009– 2009–11 2011–13 2013– 2009–12 2012–14 2014– 2009–10 2011–14 2014–	White House Press Secretary Deputy Press Secretary Director of Special Projects Director of Speechwriting White House Counsel	Robert Gibbs Jay Carney Josh Earnest Bill Burton Josh Earnest Eric Schultz Stephanie Cutter Jon Favreau Cody Keenan Greg Craig Robert Bauer Kathryn Ruemmler Neil Eggleston	2009–11 2011–13 2013– 2009–11 2011–13 2014– 2010–11 2009–13 2013– 2009–10 2010–11 2011–14 2014–
Deputy Director, National Economic Council Deputy Director, National Economic Council Chair of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board	Diana Farrell Brian Deese Jason Furman Paul Volcker	2009–11 2011–13 2009–13 2009–11	Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs	Phil Schiliro Rob Nabors Miguel Rodriguez Katie Beirne Fallon Amy Rosenbaum	2009–11 2011–13 2013–2016 2016–
Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors	Christina Romer Austan Goolsbee Jason Furman	2009–10 2010–13 2013–	Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs	Lisa Konwinski Amy Rosenbaum	2009– 2014–2016
Member of the Council of Economic Advisors	Katharine Abraham	2011–	Executive Clerk	George T. Saunders^† David Kalbaugh	2009–12 2012–
Member of the Council of Economic Advisors	Cecilia Rouse	2009–	Director, Office of Political Affairs	Patrick Gaspard David Simas	2009–11 2013–
Director, Office of Management and Budget	Peter R. Orszag Jack Lew Jeffrey Zients Sylvia Mathews Burwell Brian Deese Shaun Donovan	2009–10 2010–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014 2014–	Chief Technology Officer Chief Information Officer	Aneesh Chopra Todd Park Megan Smith Vivek Kundra Steven VanRoekel Tony Scott	2009–12 2012–14 2014– 2009–11 2011–14 2015–
Chief Performance Officer and Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget	Jeffrey Zients	2009–13	Director, Office of Presidential Personnel	Nancy Hogan Johnathan McBride Valerie Green	2010–14 2014–15 2015–
Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget	Jeffrey Liebman Heather Higginbottom Brian Deese	2010 2011–13 2013–15	Director of Scheduling and Advance Director, White House Military Office	Alyssa Mastromonaco Danielle White Crutchfield George D. Mulligan Jr. Emmett Beliveau	2009–11 2011– 2009–13 2013–
United States Trade Representative	Ron Kirk Michael Froman	2009–13 2013–	Cabinet Secretary	Chris Lu Broderick Johnson	2009–13 2013–
Director, Domestic Policy Council	Melody Barnes Cecilia Muñoz	2009–12 2012–	Deputy Cabinet Secretary	Liz Sears Smith Rachana Bhowmik Michael Robertson Gaurab Bansal	2009–11 2011–13 2013–15 2015–
Deputy Director, Domestic Policy Council	Heather Higginbottom Mark Zuckerman	2009–11 2011–	Staff Secretary	Lisa Brown Rajesh De Douglas Kramer Joani Walsh	2009–11 2011–12 2012–13 2014–
Director, Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships	Joshua DuBois Melissa Rogers	2009–2013 2013–	Assistant to the President for Management and Administration	Bradley Kiley Katy Kale Maju Varghese	2009–13 2013–15 2015–
Director, Office of Health Reform	Nancy-Ann DeParle	2009–11	Director, Oval Office Operations	Micaela Fernandez Brian Mosteller	2009–12 2012–
Deputy Director, Office of Health Reform	Jeanne Lambrew	2009–2011	Personal Aide to the President	Reggie Love Marvin Nicholson	2009–11 2011–
Director, Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy	Carol Browner	2009–11	Personal Secretary to the President	Katie Johnson Anita Decker Breckenridge Ferial Govashiri	2009–11 2011–14 2014–
Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change	Heather Zichal Dan Utech	2009–2013 2013–	Special Projects Coordinator and Confidential Assistant to the President	Eugene Kang	2009–11
Director, Council on Environmental Quality	Nancy Sutley Michael Boots	2009–2014 2014–	Director, Office of National AIDS Policy	Jeffrey Crowley Grant Cofax Douglas Brooks	2009–2011 2012–2014 2014–
Chief of Staff to the First Lady	Jackie Norris Susan Sher Christina Tchen	2009 2009–10 2011–	Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy	Gil Kerlikowske Michael Botticelli	2009–14 2014–
White House Social Secretary	Desirée Rogers Julianna Smoot Jeremy Bernard Deesha Dyer	2009–10 2010–11 2011–15 2015–	Director, Office of Urban Affairs	Adolfo Carrión Jr. Racquel Russell	2009–2010 2010–
Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy	John Holdren	2009–

^*Senate-confirmation pending. †Remained from previous administration (s).

Office of the Vice President

Position	Appointee
Chief of Staff to the Vice President	Steve Ricchetti
Counsel to the Vice President	Cynthia Hogan
Counselor to the Vice President	Mike Donilon
Assistant to the Vice President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison	Evan Ryan
Assistant to the Vice President and Director of Communications	Shailagh Murray
Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President	Shailagh Murray
Deputy National Security Adviser to the Vice President	Brian McKeon
Residence Manager and Social Secretary for the Vice President and Second Lady	Carlos Elizondo
National Security Adviser to the Vice President	Colin Kahl

Position	Appointee
Chief of Staff to the Second Lady	Catherine M. Russell
Director of Administration for the Office of the Vice President	Moises Vela
Domestic Policy Adviser to the Vice President	Terrell McSweeny
Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to the Vice President	Jared Bernstein
Press Secretary to the Vice President	Elizabeth Alexander
Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President	Annie Tomasini
Director of Legislative Affairs	Sudafi Henry
Director of Communications for the Second Lady	Courtney O’Donnell

White House Press Secretaries

Akerson Joslin Early Daniels Ross Early Short Tubby Hagerty Salinger Reedy Moyers Christian Ziegler terHorst Nessen Powell Brady Speakes (acting) Fitzwater Myers McCurry Lockhart Siewert Fleischer McClellan Snow Perino Gibbs Carney Earnest

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 238823403

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