PROGRAM

Roosevelt House is pleased to present a discussion of the new book The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House by bestselling author Chris Whipple. In this revelatory and news-making chronicle, Whipple reveals how President Joe Biden and his team battled to achieve their achieve his public policy agenda during two years of crises at home and abroad. The author will be in conversation with 13-time Emmy Award-winning 60 Minutescorrespondent Lesley Stahl.

With remarkable access to both President Biden and his inner circle—including Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and CIA Director William Burns—Whipple pulls back the curtain on the Biden administration’s response to the most staggering array of challenges since the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. A lethal pandemic, a plummeting economy, an unresolved 20-year war, and the aftermath of a polarizing attack on the Capitol were soon followed by a second wave of crises including the fallout from a divisive Supreme Court, raging inflation, and Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

A stunning portrait of politics on the edge, The Fight of His Life takes readers inside the Oval Office as some of the most critical decisions of Biden’s presidency were made—revealing internal power struggles, back-room compromises, and the key staffers who keep the White House running. Also included are new insights into how certain Trump officials enabled the transfer of power, why Joe Biden no longer speaks freely around his security detail, what he really thinks of the press, and his relationship with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Chris Whipple is an author, political analyst, and Emmy Award–winning documentary filmmaker. He is a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN, and NPR, and has contributed essays to The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Vanity Fair. His first book, The Gatekeepers, an analysis of the position of White House Chief of Staff, was a New York Times bestseller. His critically acclaimed follow-up, The Spymasters, was based on interviews with nearly every living CIA Director. This is Chris Whipple’s third appearance in a Roosevelt House program.

Lesley Stahl is one of America’s most recognized and experienced broadcast journalists. Her career has been marked by political scoops, surprising features, and award-winning foreign reporting. She has been a 60 Minutes correspondent since 1991. Before that, she served as CBS News White House correspondent—the first woman to hold the job— during the Carter, Reagan, and part of the George H.W. Bush presidencies. The winner of 13 Emmy Awards, Stahl also hosted Face the Nation from 1983 to 1991.