NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett will speak at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4, at Wofford College on “Mr. Trump’s Wild Ride.” The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Jerome Johnson Richardson Theatre in the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts.
The event is presented by the Hipp Lecture Series on International Affairs and National Security, part of the newly created Hipp Center for National Security and Foreign Policy.
A reception and book signing will be held immediately afterward in the lobby of the Center for the Arts. Garrett’s latest book, “Mr. Trump’s Wild Ride: The Thrills, Chills, Screams and Occasional Blackouts of an Extraordinary Presidency,” will be available for purchase at the event.
The Hipp Lecture Series on International Affairs and National Security, founded in 2011, is designed to create signature events at Wofford with the goal of capturing the attention of students and the public and drawing them into important conversations on applying American leadership and ideals to the challenges of international affairs past, present and future. The lecture series is made possible through the generous donations of Wofford alumnus Van D. Hipp Jr., class of 1982, chairman of American Defense International Inc., a Washington D.C.-based consulting firm specializing in government affairs, business development and public relations.
The Hipp Center for National Security and Foreign Policy offers experiential learning opportunities for Wofford students through internships and other scholarly activities that focus on topics and events significant to the country.
Garrett, who was named the network’s chief White House correspondent in 2012, was the first network correspondent to report that Joe Biden would not challenge Hillary Clinton for the nomination for president in 2016 and was the first to report that President Donald Trump had chosen Mike Pence as his running mate – both significant scoops in the world of political reporting. Garrett also was the first to report during the presidential transition six of Trump’s Cabinet appointments, including Jeff Sessions as attorney general, Ryan Zinke as secretary of the interior, Scott Pruitt as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative.
Garrett covered the Trump campaign for 16 months, covered every Republican debate, covered all of the presidential debates and continues to cover the Trump presidency.
As chief White House correspondent for CBS, Garrett reports for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms. He also hosts “The Takeout,” a weekly podcast about politics, policy and pop culture.
While covering the White House, Garrett has reported extensively on presidential actions to confront ISIS, Ebola, nuclear negotiations with Iran and U.S.-European efforts to confront Russia in the standoff over Ukraine. On domestic issues, he has reported on the administration’s handling of the health care website rollout, numerous policy failures at the Veterans Administration and the president’s ongoing efforts in 2014 to address racial strife and criminal justice reform. Garrett has traveled with the president to Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Before joining CBS News as chief White House correspondent, Garrett was a fixture during CBS News’ coverage of Campaign 2012 through a partnership with the National Journal, where he was chief White House correspondent. He co-hosted the network’s coverage of the 2011 South Carolina Republican Primary debate – held on the Wofford College campus as part of the Hipp Lecture Series – alongside “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Scott Pelley and offered analysis for every 2012 general election presidential debate.
Prior to National Journal, Garrett was the chief White House correspondent for Fox News. During his eight years at Fox, he also covered two presidential elections, Congress, the war in Iraq and other major stories. Before joining Fox News, he was a White House correspondent for CNN during the administrations of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Previously, he was a senior editor and congressional correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, where he reported on Congress and the impeachment of President Clinton. He was a congressional reporter for The Washington Times (1990-95) and the newspaper’s deputy national editor (1995-97). Earlier in his career, Garrett was a reporter for The Houston Post, Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Amarillo Globe-News.
In addition to his latest book, Garrett is author of four other books: “Common Cents,” “The Fifteen Biggest Lies in Politics,” “The Enduring Revolution: How the Contract with America Continues to Shape the Nation” and “The Enduring Revolution: The Inside Story of the Republican Ascendancy and Why It Will Continue.”
Garrett is a graduate of the University of Missouri with degrees in journalism and political science. A native of San Diego, Calif., he lives in Washington, D.C.