Robert Lane Gibbs (born March 29, 1971) is an American communication professional who served as executive vice president and global chief communications officer ofMcDonald's from 2015 to 2019 and as the 27thWhite House Press Secretary from 2009 to 2011.
Prior to becoming a member of the Obama team he was press secretary forJohn Kerry's2004 presidential campaign and was a part of several Senate campaigns, having served as communications director for theDemocratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and for four individual Senate campaigns, including those of Obama in 2004 andFritz Hollings in 1998.[4] Gibbs was also the press secretary of RepresentativeBob Etheridge.[5] Gibbs was announced as the press secretary for President Obama on November 22, 2008,[6] and officially assumed the role on January 20, 2009, giving his first official briefing on January 22. In 2024 he joined Warner Brothers Discovery as communications chief.[7]
Gibbs was born inAuburn, Alabama.[8] His parents, Nancy Jean (née Lane) and Robert Coleman Gibbs, worked in theAuburn University library system and involved their son in politics at an early age.[2][9][10] Nancy Gibbs would take Robert, then known as "Bobby," to localLeague of Women Voters meetings rather than hire a babysitter, and involved him in "voter re-identification" work at the county courthouse.[11]
In 1997, Gibbs was press secretary for CongressmanBob Etheridge of North Carolina and, in 1998, was spokesman for SenatorFritz Hollings'successful re-election campaign.[5] He worked in the campaigns of two other senators, and served as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, before taking the position of press secretary ofJohn Kerry's2004 presidential campaign.[5]
Gibbs joined Barack Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign as communications director in mid-April 2004[17] and remained with the senator through the first two years of Obama's term. Gibbs is credited with guiding Obama through those first years and molding his rise on the national scene. According toThe New York Times, Gibbs advised Obama on politics, strategy and messaging, and spent more time with Obama than any other advisor.[3]
The appointment of Gibbs by Obama to the post of Communications Chief was met with mild controversy by some critics in theDemocratic National Committee, who cited Gibbs' role in the aggressive campaign tactics used to block the nomination of Howard Dean in the 2004 race. Obama, however, referred to Gibbs as his "one-person Southern focus group" and welcomed him as part of his close-knit team that included strategistDavid Axelrod, campaign directorDavid Plouffe, and research directorDevorah Adler. In his communications role, Gibbs became known as "the enforcer" because of his aggressive rapid-response methods for counteringdisinformation tactics from opponents. Gibbs assumed responsibility for "shaping the campaign message, responding to the 24/7 news cycle, schmoozing with the press and fighting back when he disagree[d] with its reporting."[18] As the chief intermediary between the Obama campaign and the press, Gibbs sought to counter theRepublican National Committee'sopposition research tactics against Obama in early 2007.[19]
Gibbs adopted a policy of rapid response to claims byconservative news outlets that questioned Obama's religious upbringing. In response to the "Obama is aMuslim"meme suggested by these claims, Gibbs disseminated information to other news networks that Obama is not nor has ever been Muslim. At the time, Gibbs said, "These malicious, irresponsible charges are precisely the kind of politics the American people have grown tired of."[20]
After comments byGeorge W. Bush to theIsraeliKnesset questioning Obama'sforeign policy platform's focus on international diplomacy, Gibbs responded, calling Bush's comments "astonishing" and "an unprecedented attack on foreign soil." Gibbs argued that Bush's policy amounted to "cowboy diplomacy" that had been discounted by Bush's own Secretary of Defense,Robert Gates, and quoted with Gates' own words: "We need to figure out a way to develop some leverage ... and then sit down and talk...if there is going to be a discussion, then they need something, too. We can't go to a discussion and be completely the demander, with them not feeling that they need anything from us."[21]
He was widely blamed by news media executives for "holding hostage" reporters, while Obama andHillary Clinton met for the first time after a heavily contestedDemocratic primary season. He countered back, "It wasn't an attempt to deceive in any way ... It was just private meetings."[19]
Obama and Gibbs in the conference room ofAir Force One in July 2009
On 22 November 2008, it was announced by theObama transition team that Gibbs would be theWhite House Press Secretary for the Obama administration.[22] He assumed the role of press secretary on 20 January 2009, and gave his first official briefing on January 22, 2009.
In an interview withThe Hill, Gibbs derided the "professional left" and "liberals," who "wouldn't be satisfied ifDennis Kucinich was president." He said that people who compare Obama's policies toGeorge W. Bush's "ought to be drug tested."[23]
Gibbs stirred controversy when he stated that the drone killing of 16-year-oldson of Anwar al-Awlaki was justified, and that the boy "should [have] had a more responsible father."[24][25]
On 5 January 2011, Gibbs announced that he would leave the White House to become an outside adviser to the Administration. He formally left the position on February 11, 2011.
On February 12, 2013, it was announced that Gibbs had been hired as a contributor for cable news channelMSNBC. His first appearance was on the same night prior to the2013 State of the Union Address. In June 2012, Gibbs was appointed to the board of directors ofYelp.[26] In June 2013, it was announced that Gibbs andBen LaBolt co-founded a strategic communications practice called The Incite Agency, where he was a partner until 2015.[27] He left Incite in 2015 to become chief communications officer for McDonald's Corporation, an office he held until his departure from the company in October 2019.[28][29] In March 2020, he became senior counsel at Bully Pulpit Interactive, which had acquired The Incite Agency in 2016.[30][31]
In August 2020, Gibbs became a third co-host of the U.S. political podcast "Hacks On Tap", joiningDavid Axelrod andMike Murphy.[32] In June 2024, Gibbs was announced as Head of Communications forWarner Bros. Discovery.[33]
^Akers, Mary Ann (February 23, 2007)."Bloggers Blast Obama Spokesman"(Blog).The Sleuth Blog. The Washington Post. RetrievedNovember 22, 2008.
^Krol, Eric; Patterson, John (April 26, 2004)."Campaign notebook".Daily Herald. p. 11. RetrievedApril 9, 2009.Tidbits: Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Barack Obama has hired a new director of communications. Robert Gibbs came to Illinois last week.
^abLangley, Monica (August 28, 2008)."Meet Obama's Media 'Enforcer'"(Article).Politics. The Wall Street Journal. RetrievedNovember 22, 2008.
