Former press secretary Robert Gibbs made his debut as an MSNBC/NBC News political contributor ahead of his former boss’s State of the Union address last night. He was back on this morning on “Morning Joe.” Gibbs was Pres. Obama’s press secretary from 2009-2011.
He follows in a long line of former press secretaries who’ve made the leap to TV news, including Geroge W. Bush press secretaries Dana Perino, a co-host of FNC’s “The Five,” and Tony Snow, who was with Fox News before joining the White House and with CNN after. Bill Clinton‘s press secretary Dee Dee Myers (1993-94) was the host of “Equal Time” on CNBC, George Stephanopoulos’s short run as Press Secretary before Myers in 1993 would lead to an association with ABC News that’s lasted 17 years. He’s now the co-host of “GMA” and host of “This Week.” Joe Lockhart (1998-2000) had stints with ABC and CNN.
Going back even further, Bill Moyers was LBJ’s press secretary in 1965-66. He has hosted various shows on PBS over the years.
Current Press Secretary Jay Carney did the reverse. He was a journalist with TIME for 20 years before joining the White House in 2009.