Robert Gibbs: Schenectady to Facebook?
Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs visited the Capital Region Monday night - yours truly was there, covering the story for public radio...
A pair of reports appearing in newspapers owned by News Corporation (which also owns Facebook vanquishee MySpace) suggest that Gibbs won’t be going west to California for a senior communications position with the social-network.
Robert Gibbs served as 28th White House press secretary under Barack Obama - he spoke at Union College on his second visit to the Electric City in 5 months - he was here in January when President Obama visited GE.
His appearance at Union College was just his third speaking engagement since leaving the White House, bringing his talk, "Inside Washington: What's Next" to Memorial Chapel.
Reporters were given the opportunity to conduct Q&A with Gibbs before his speech. I was surprised there weren't more of us at the event!
Gibbs appeared relaxed and confident, even though the Schenectady talk was only his third professional speaking engagement since leaving the White House.
Gibbs mentioned the Obama Birth Certificate issue in his presser and in his speech. My guess is that Team Obama may be playing it close to the vest, holding onto the document then releasing it close to election to instantly discredit the other side, kicking 'em down a notch.
Related ::: Obama ‘Absolutely’ Born in Hawaii: CNNGibbs also said that Mitt Romney has best chance of becoming the GOP nominee, and he warns the Hispanic Vote will be critical - he says if Republicans don't get the Hispanic Vote - they can't win the Presidency!
Gibbs has reportedly been in on-and-off talks to join Facebook's communications team, a job that could be worth millions in salary and stock options, according to The New York Times. If Gibbs accepted the position, he would be one in a string of Washington veterans to join the Facebook team as it continues to strengthen its presence on Capitol Hill. He didn't comment about FB at the presser.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that talks had “fallen apart in the wake of a leak to the media that made a deal for him to join the company sound imminent.”
The New York Post’s Page Six reported earlier this month that the interview process hadn’t gone too well for Gibbs. “Some people liked him, some people liked him a lot and others didn’t,” a source told the gossip column.
Since 2009, Facebook's Washington team has grown from two to eight members, with a roster including former Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy Muris, who served under President George W. Bush; Catherine Martin, a deputy assistant for Mr. Bush; and former Obama White House staffer Marne Levine.
Tags: Robert Gibbs, Donald Trump
