Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser for President Barack Obama and author of The World As It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House, joins Michele Jawando and Mike Fuchs to reflect on his years as a top adviser to the president. Rhodes reacts to the backlash over family separations at the border and responds to claims that the Obama administration had a similar policy. He also reveals the self-doubt President Obama felt after President Donald Trump’s election and why Obama worried his presidency was 10 or 20 years too early. Finally, Rhodes shares the story of how he nearly derailed then-candidate Obama’s presidential campaign back in 2008.
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Michele Jawando is a vice president at the Center for American Progress. Mike Fuchs is a senior fellow at the Center. Sally Tucker is the radio coordinator for Communications at the Center. Rachel Rosen is the senior director of Broadcast Communications at the Center.