Todd S. Purdum | |
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 Purdum in 2014 | |
| Born | Todd Stanley Purdum (1959-12-13)December 13, 1959 (age 65) Macomb, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Princeton University (BA) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Notable credits | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
Todd Stanley Purdum (born December 13, 1959) is an American journalist who works as a national editor and political correspondent forVanity Fair.
Purdum is a son of Jerry S. Purdum, aMacomb, Illinois, insurance broker, investor and realtor, and Connie Purdum.[1] He graduated fromSt. Paul's School in 1978 and fromPrinceton University in 1982 where he was a member of theUniversity Press Club.[2]
Until late 2005, Purdum was a reporter and theLos Angeles bureau chief forThe New York Times. From 1994 to 1997, he was aWhite House correspondent for theTimes. He is now the national editor forVanity Fair magazine. He was hired as staff writer forThe Atlantic in July 2018.[3]
For the July 2008 issue ofVanity Fair, Purdum wrote a scathing article aboutBill Clinton, "The Comeback Id". The article analyzed Clinton's post-presidency business dealings, behavior, and possible personal indiscretions, citing several anonymous current and former Clinton aides.[4] When asked about the article byHuffington Post writer Mayhill Fowler, Clinton said (in reference to Purdum): "He's a really dishonest reporter... and I haven't read (the article). There's just five or six blatant lies in there. But he's a real slimy guy." When Fowler reminded Clinton that Purdum is married to his former press secretary, he responded: "That's all right – he's still a scumbag." He later added, "He's just a dishonest guy – can't help it." Clinton went on to observe, "It's all politics. It's all about the bias of the media for Obama. Don't think anything about it. But I'm telling ya, all it's doing is driving her supporters further and further away – because they know exactly what it is – this has been the most rigged coverage in modern history – and the guy ought to be ashamed of himself. But he has no shame. It isn't the first dishonest piece he's written about me or her." The following day,Jay Carson, a spokesman forHillary Clinton's presidential campaign, stated that Clinton regretted those remarks, but their factual content remained unchallenged by the Clintons.[5]
Purdum marriedTiffany Windsor Bluemle in 1987; the couple were subsequently divorced. In 1997, he married formerWhite House Press SecretaryDee Dee Myers,[1] who served PresidentBill Clinton from 1993 to 1994. Their relationship is the basis for the relationship betweenC.J. Cregg andDanny Concannon on the TV showThe West Wing.[6] Purdum and Myers have two children, Kate and Stephen.[7]
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