We have profound gratitude for Jonathan Karp, the CEO of Simon & Schuster. He oversees an enterprise that publishes thousands of titles a year, but he was also our hands-on editor. He engaged with us at every step—conception, drafting, and even the photo captions and book-jacket copy. He pushed us and himself, always asking the important questions: Do we have this right? Do we understand this? Who else might speak to us?
Jon is an editor of conscience and compassion, a seeker of truth and clarity. He loves books, authors, and readers, and sees publishing as both civic duty and moral responsibility.
Special thanks to Kimberly Goldstein, who oversaw the organizational and technical efforts of getting this book published. She is a master. And thanks to other executives and leaders at Simon & Schuster who were unflagging in their support: Dana Canedy, Julia Prosser, Lisa Healy, Lisa Erwin, Paul Dippolito, Irene Kheradi, Stephen Bedford, Kate Mertes, Richard Shrout, W. Anne Jones, Jackie Seow, Rafael Taveras, Mikaela Bielawski, and Elisa Rivlin.
Copy editor Fred Chase came to Washington from his home in Texas and gave the manuscript multiple reads with his keen eye and sense of language. Mary E. Taylor spent hours skillfully and professionally assisting us in this project. We will forever be thankful to her.
Robert B. Barnett, lawyer and counselor, has earned the title Senior Publishing Guru of Washington. He guided us through this project at every turn, always wise, always devoted, and always available.
Woodward has 50 years with The Washington Post. Costa eight years. The Post is one of the great, ever-growing institutions in the United States—demanding, traditional yet also experimental. Jeff Bezos, the Post’s owner, has brought dynamism and much needed stability to the Post. Publisher Fred Ryan has supported both of us and has been an unflinching defender of press freedom.
In the newsroom, we appreciate former executive editor Marty Baron and managing editors Cameron Barr and Tracy Grant for encouraging this collaboration, and are excited to support Marty’s successor, Sally Buzbee, as she leads and bolsters the Post in the coming years. National editor Steven Ginsberg is valued by both of us, as is the whole National team.
Thanks to the Post’s director of photography, MaryAnne Golon, and photo editor, Thomas Simonetti, who expertly assisted us with the photos included in this book.
We cherish the relationships we have with hundreds of other Post colleagues, from the copy aides to the reporters who have worked closely with us to the veteran editors who make it all happen every day. There are far too many names to list here. But we hope they know how much they mean to us. We are honored to be part of the Post family.
Writing a book on the White House and campaigns necessitates constant study. We learned much from the reporting published by The Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, NBC News and MSNBC, ABC, CBS News, the Associated Press, Reuters, Axios, The Atlantic, and Politico, among many others.
We were also reporting on the final months of the Trump presidency at the same time as other authors. Naturally, our reporting paths sometimes took us down similar roads, and we respect the work they have done in their books on this period, particularly I Alone Can Fix It by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, Landslide by Michael Wolff, and “Frankly, We Did Win This Election” by Michael C. Bender.
Woodward
Many thanks to former colleagues and continuing friends: Carl Bernstein (for nearly 50 years of counsel and friendship), Don Graham, Sally Quinn, David and Linda Maraniss, Rick Atkinson, Christian Williams, Paul Richard, Patrick Tyler, Tom Wilkinson, Steve Luxenberg, Scott Armstrong, Al Kamen, Ben Weiser, Martha Sherrill, Bill Powers, John Feinstein, Michael Newman, Richard Snyder, Jamie Gangel, Danny Silva, Andy Lack, Betsy Lack, Rita Braver, Carl Feldbaum, Anne Swallow, Seymour Hersh, Richard Cohen, Steve Brill, Tom Boswell, Wendy Boswell, Judy Kovler, Peter Kovler, Ted Olson, Lady Olson, Karen Alexander, Brendan Sullivan, Bill Nelson, Jim Hoagland, Jane Hitchcock, Robert Redford, David Remnick, David Martin, Gerald Rafshoon, Cheryl Haywood, George Haywood, Jim Wooten, Patience O’Connor, Christine Kuehbeck, Wendy Woodward, Sue Whall, Catherine Joyce, Jon Sowanick, Bill Slater, Cary Greenauer, Don Gold, Kyle Pruett, Marsha Pruett, Veronica Walsh, Mickey Cafiero, Grail Walsh, Redmond Walsh, Diana Walsh, Kent Walker, Daria Walsh, Bruce McNamara, Josh Horwitz, Ericka Markman, Barbara Guss, Bob Tyrer, Sian Spurney, Michael Phillips, Neil Starr, Shelly Hall, Evelyn Duffy, Dr. William Hamilton, Joan Felt, Ken Adelman, Carol Adelman, Tony D’Amelio, Joanna D’Amelio, Matt Anderson, Brady Dennis, Jeff Glasser, Bill Murphy, Josh Boak, Rob Garver, Stephen Enniss, Steve Milke, Pat Stevens, Bassam Freiha, Jackie Crowe, Brian Foley, Cyrille Fontaine, Dan Foley, Betty Govatos, and Barbara Woodward.
Rosa Criollo’s generous spirit throughout this project was appreciated.
Robert Costa, 35, is half my age, 78. But he exceeds my understanding of politics, Washington, and journalism. He is a marvel. He taught me so much, always driving us to ask penetrating, honest questions and then examine the answers. I would feel good doing one or two interviews a day. Many days, he would do seven. No one has more energy or curiosity. He found a structure to this story, immediately seeing the relationship between Biden and Trump, and the connective politics of the Republican and Democratic parties, the White House, and Congress.
My family is in my thoughts daily: daughter Diana, daughter Tali and her husband Gabe, and my grandchildren, Zadie and Theo.
Elsa Walsh, my wife, devoted many days and weeks to this book. Formal and informal talk, and more talk. But most important, she is a brilliant, informed and very intense editor. Costa and I were treated to regular and compelling rewrite suggestions. He learned, as have I over the years, that it is possible to have more suggestions and edits on a page than the original typed words.
There is still a degree of mystery to Elsa’s genius. In doing more than 200 interviews, nearly all of them recorded, Costa and I have 6,200 pages of transcripts. That could be about 20 long, serious books—a virtual library of the Trump and Biden presidencies. At times, we lost track of what might be important and what might not be important. Not Elsa. She zeroed in on who had critical information and who was providing it. One evening, she took a stack of transcripts and retired with her green pen. She soon started peppering us with questions. Why is this not in the latest draft? Don’t you see how this connects with what another person said? Each day, she forwarded choice clips from our own paper, or the New York Times, or the Wall Street Journal or special political and military publications, and she even had assignment lists and reading lists for us.
Everything is related, she said in dozens of ways. I suggest you contact this person or go back to that person, she said. Does this section go far enough? Her work enlarged every scene and the whole book.
As I always remind myself, Elsa is a disciple of Henry James and his assertion on the importance of kindness. She is always kind. There is no sufficient way to thank her for all she contributes to our lives together and my writing, and the 17 books I have written since we have been together.
When we were married in 1989, a Wallace Stevens poem was read:
So great a unity, that it is bliss
Ties us to those we love
Be near me, come closer, touch my hand
Phrases compounded of dear relation, spoken twice,
Once by the lips, once by the services.
Costa
My siblings James Costa, Ellen Duncan, and Tim Costa are the pillars in my life, along with my parents, Tom and Dillon Costa. My siblings’ spouses, Meghan Daly Costa and Paul Duncan, and my nieces, Dillon and Sloane Duncan, add joy to our lives.
Special thanks to the extended Dalton and Costa families. My wonderful aunts and uncles and cousins are too many to list here. You know how much you all mean to me.
I am grateful for my longtime family friends in Bucks County and across the country, and for my friends in the Washington area.
I’ve been blessed to have bright and caring colleagues in my print and television work. Since 2014, I’ve been lucky to call the Post my professional home. Many thanks to the reporters and editors who have become partners as we have covered the big stories, and to Tammy Haddad and the Post Live team.
At PBS and WETA, Sharon Rockefeller opened the door and gave me the privilege of moderating Washington Week. Many thanks to the program’s excellent team, PBS executives, and the board at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Being part of MSNBC and NBC News as a political analyst for five years was terrific. Many thanks to Rashida Jones, Elena Nachmanoff, Andy Lack, and the anchors, reporters, and tireless producers who have become close friends.
Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, encouraged me to be a reporter at a critical time in my career. He has remained a mentor for over a decade. My journalism professor Robert Schmuhl continues to be a wise and guiding presence in my work.
The author Michael Bamberger taught me so much about writing and listening and finding the emotional truth in the smallest of moments.
Special thanks to three of my teachers at Pennsbury High School: Al Wilson, Steve Medoff, and Frank Sciolla. Due to their vision and commitment, I was introduced to journalism.
It’s hard to put into words how much I’ve enjoyed getting to know Bob, Elsa, and Diana Woodward. My gratitude is lifelong. And Bob, you’ve truly given me a master class on reporting and leadership. Every day was a gift.