White House

From "Birth of a Nation" to "Till": The Politics of White House Screenings

The Bidens hosted a group of about 100 historians, civil rights leaders, and members of Congress to screen the biographical film adaptation of the story of Emmett Till and his mother's quest for justice. 

Historical Association Schools Teachers on White House History

Over 200 teachers in the DC area are learning about White House history this week, through a five-day online program presented by the White House Historical Association.

White House Barriers Show We Have Forgotten the History Behind Lafayette Square

by Aurélia Aubert and Lorna Bracewell

That the principles Lafayette stood for were so brazenly repudiated in a square named in his honor underscores the depth of the crisis in which the United States is engulfed.

With Trump’s Coronavirus Briefings, An Old Debate Takes On Fresh Urgency

In media circles, the recent briefings have reignited a familiar Trump-era debate: should the networks carry them live? 

The enslaved people who built and staffed the White House: An afterthought no more

A new online exhibit by the White House Historical Association, a private nonprofit that sits across the street from the White House, explores that untold history.

Melania Trump Just Restarted a 100-Year-Old Political Controversy: The White House Tennis Court

by Ryan Swanson

Presidents, be wary of associating with country club sports during times of political crisis.  

Spies in the White House Have a History of Running Wild Without Congressional Oversight

A former congressional staffer says withholding damning evidence from Congress and using civilians to carry out presidential or intelligence agency agendas links the Ukraine crisis to other scandals.

Historian Ron Chernow Cracks Jokes at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

In choosing a scholar over a satirist, the Correspondents’ Association had sought to solemnize a dinner known for its comedic puncturing of the Washington bubble. 

Trump campaign adviser dismisses White House diversity question, asks about black people in Lincoln admin

"Is Abraham Lincoln a racist because he didn't have a black person in his West Wing?," asked Trump 2020 campaign adviser Katrina Pierson.

Turnover In Trump's White House Is 'Record-Setting,' And It Isn't Even Close

If President Trump's first year in office seemed chaotic from a staffing perspective, there's a reason.

Trump White House Saw Record Number of First-Year Staff Departures

Administration’s 34% first-year turnover rate is twice that of Reagan’s 17% in 1981—the next-highest in the past 40 years

White House Distances Itself From The Poem On The Statue Of Liberty

(Don't) “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Who in the White House Will Turn Against Donald Trump?

by David Remnick

While Trump’s personality is different from Nixon’s, there is little evidence that the show of bogus loyalty performed last week has any basis in real life.

Yes, Slaves Did Help Build the White House

Michelle Obama, speaking at the Democratic Convention, said she lived in a home built by slaves. Some were taken aback, but history supports her.

What’s with All of These People Who Attack the White House?

by Ronald L. Feinman

It’s a trend and it’s gotten worse in the last few decades.

Keeping the White House Open

by Jeff Shesol

The White House has fortified itself by degrees. Fences grew higher and more imposing, gates were closed, windows were filled with bulletproof glass, walls were reinforced, security checkpoints were installed.

At the White House, a Long Line of Unwelcome Guests

Presidents have faced astonishing breaches at “the people’s house,” long before an intruder with a knife managed to slip past security and run around the State Floor this month.

Witness to History: 30 Years As a White House Steno

Time Magazine interview's the White House stenographer on her thirty years of service in the White House.

Nixon's White House – caught on Super 8

An administration under fire over covert wiretapping, whistleblowers hailed as heroes and lambasted as traitors, a president's reputation on the line … You could be excused for detecting a whiff of Nixon-era sulphur in the US political atmosphere these days. With the trial of Bradley Manning, the Department of Justice's pursuit of journalists who use national-security sources and, of course, Edward Snowden's revelations of NSA data harvesting filling the headlines, state-sanctioned subterfuge and divisive whistleblowing dominate US politics more than at any time since the days of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate.

Obama dismisses Nixon comparisons

During a joint press conference this afternoon at the White House, President Obama dismissed his critics’ charges that this weeks scandals are of a similar nature to those that tarnished and shortened the tenure of President Richard Nixon during the early 1970s. Shrugging off the accusations, the president indicated the comparisons don’t bother him and that his critics can draw their own conclusions....