Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House
FORMER WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF Alyssa Mastromonaco WITH LAUREN OYLER Me and my Omie in our fabulous coats. I have binoculars because she loved to look at birds. alyssa mastromonaco
Me channeling my inner Diane Keaton in preparation for my interview with Charlie Rose. claydumas
Before “Alyssa and Kathy’s Last-Chance Dance,” the White House threw us a cocktail party to celebrate our last day. This is the Oval Office back patio; that’s Kathy talking to POTUS. pete souza
WhoThoughtThis_HCinsert4P.indd 1 10/12/16 11:29 am The entire scheduling and advance team freaking out on election night at Grant Park. I went home early to get some sleep, so I’m not in this photo, but the guy in flip-flops is having enough fun for the both of us. pete souza
The coolest I’ve ever looked, on Marine One across from POTUS. marvin nicholson marvin
Marv and me on NightHawk 2 on our way to see the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on April 29, 2011. It was canceled due to an equipment problem, but I got another slick sunglasses photo out of it. arun chaudhary arun
WhoThoughtThis_HCinsert4P.indd 2 10/12/16 11:29 am This is the reception for Plouffe’s last day. I’m telling a very funny story. pete souza
White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley once told me he would like to “burn those pants” and that they looked like something Rodney Dangerfield would wear. I loved them. lawrence jackson
POTUS, WH Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, me, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Rob Nabors in the Oval. Denis looks good. pete souza
WhoThoughtThis_HCinsert4P.indd 3 10/12/16 11:29 am Me resisting POTUS’s attempts to antagonize me with my thirty-sixth birthday gift. (It was a really beautiful rose gold bracelet.) pete souza
Everyone breathlessly anticipating whether I will poop on the pope. pete souza
Pfeiffer, POTUS, and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told me I was the size of a hedgehog, so I was pretending to be a hedgehog. pete souza
WhoThoughtThis_HCinsert4P.indd 4 10/12/16 11:29 am In the middle of our 2009 trip to Iraq, we had to change plans midflight because a sandstorm was rolling through. This is the conference room on Air Force One; I had secret plastic bags in my jacket pockets in case I needed to puke on the helicopter. pete souza
POTUS drops in on me, Joe Paulsen, and Bobby Schmuck having a meeting in my office. Note my zip-up fashion hoodie. pete souza
Me, POTUS, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Mona Sutphen on our way back from Ghana. pete souza
WhoThoughtThis_HCinsert4P.indd 5 10/12/16 11:29 am pete souza My sister and me with POTUS in New York. I routinely wore sequins to work. chuckkennedy Smoot and me outlining our plans for a fund-raiser at Paris Fashion Week in 2012: Kanye West would be there, and I was going to get to the bottom of whether he was really dating Kim Kardashian.
WhoThoughtThis_HCinsert4P.indd 6 10/12/16 11:29 am WhoThoughtThis_HCinsert4P.indd 7 pete souza of Staff Tina Tchen, Tina of Staff (who looks great), great), (who looks FLOTUS’s Chief Chief FLOTUS’s Messing around around Messing and Jay Carney. Jay and on Marine One One on Marine with FLOTUS FLOTUS with
pete souza
pete souza Y/N.”box Check ceiling? debt the like you “Do on the right. on the is Fugate Craig Administrator FEMA headquarters. at FEMA Sandy Hurricane on update an receives POTUS 10/12/16 11:29 am Marv, VPOTUS, my messy desk, and what is possibly an issue of People magazine. david lienemann david
Me, Plouffe, and Favs on the campaign trail in summer 2012, trying to figure out if the diner across the street is open. jason reed/reuters
November 22, 2013: me, DK, and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan picking out our wedding vows in her office. The bride wore Stella McCartney in petrol blue. lawrence jackson
WhoThoughtThis_HCinsert4P.indd 8 10/12/16 11:29 am