Former Obama Speechwriter Jon Favreau ’03 Talks about Politics and Life after Washington, D.C.

In a recent article by the New York Times, Jon Favreau ’03, former director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama and co-founder of Fenway Strategies, talked speechwriting, politics and life after Washington, D.C.

Serving as the White House director of speechwriting from 2009-2013, Favreau told the New York Times he instantly recognized similarities between Melania Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention and phrases from Michelle Obama’s speech during the 2008 National Democratic Convention. The Times reports “As the chief speechwriter for the 2008 Obama campaign, Mr. Favreau had hired the woman who wrote Mrs. Obama’s address.”

Favreau’s launch into the White House started in 2004 during an internship as a student at Holy Cross at Sen. John Kerry’s office in Washington D.C. From there, he became the second-youngest chief White House speechwriter in history.

Even though Favreau left Washington and the political world in 2013 and co-created the communication firm Fenway Strategies in Los Angeles, politics are still top of mind for him, the article says. He has a weekly podcast on The Ringer, a digital outlet started by Bill Simmons ’92, and he also talks politics on MSNBC.

When talking about politics, Favreau sometimes slips back into “speechmaking mode,” the New York Times reports. “Whatever I do in life, I end up in the same place,” he [Favreau] said. “Writing about politics, talking about politics. I tried to quit. I can’t quit.”

This “Holy Cross in the News” item is by Jessica Kennedy.