August 2, 2024

Robert Schmuhl Discusses Churchill’s Stays as the President’s White House Guest

Last month, author Robert Schmuhl, author of Mr. Churchill in the White House, sat down with CBS News reporter Robert Costa to discuss his new book about the visits Winston Churchill made to Washington during which the British Prime Minister stayed as a guest of the President of the United States in the White House. This happened during the administrations of both Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman. To view the one hour video, please CLICK HERE.

Schmuhl and Costa held their discussion in Washington, D. C. at the popular Politics and Prose Bookstore. Schmuhl is the Walter H. Annenberg-Edmund P. Joyce Chair Emeritus in American Studies and Journalism at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author or editor of fifteen books, including The Glory and the Burden about the US presidency. Costa is an American political reporter who is the chief election and campaign correspondent for CBS News. Prior to joining CBS in 2022, Costa was a longtime national political reporter for The Washington Post.

Churchill left a permanent legacy in Washington as a result of his demanding behavior as a White House guest. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt initiated the discussion that led to the establishment of Blair House as the official guest house of the President and where a President-elect traditionally stays the night before inauguration. Churchill himself never stayed there.