Presidential Sites Summit Explores Life Behind the Scenes at the White House

Every two years, the Presidential Sites Summit brings together operators and administrators of presidential libraries, historical sites, and the descendents of America’s presidents. This year’s gathering kicked off earlier this week on stage at the Kennedy Center.

Tammy Haddad, Anita McBride, Jamie Vanderbilt, David M. Rubenstein, Adan Canto, Mack McLarty, Capricia Marshall, Kirk Saduski, Massee McKinley, Tweed Roosevelt, Lynda Johnson Robb, Susan Ford Bales, Clifton Truman Daniel

After a welcome from Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter and Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan, the evening featured two panel discussions.

The first panel, moderated by David Rubenstein, featured stories from the White House as told by presidential descendants Susan Ford Bales, Daughter of President Gerald R. Ford, Clifton Truman Daniel, Grandson of President Harry S. Truman, Massee McKinley, Descendant of Presidents William McKinley and Grover Cleveland, Lynda Johnson Robb, Daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Tweed Roosevelt, Great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Tammy Haddad @HaddadMedia explains why filmmakers demand precision in the way events in the White House are portrayed. #PresidentialSites pic.twitter.com/UcOQXqB9NX

— White House Insider (@whcinsider) August 30, 2018

The second discussion, “The White House Behind the Camera,” featured an introduction from Anita McBride, chair of the Presidential Sites Summit and the Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush, which was followed by a conversation between Adan Canto, star of Designated Survivor, Tammy Haddad, President & CEO of Haddad Media and HBO, Mack McLarty, chairman of McLarty Associates, Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton, and consultant on Designated Survivor & White House Down, Capricia Marshall, House of Cards consultant and Social Secretary to Bill Clinton, documentarian Kirk Saduski, and Jamie Vanderbilt, the writer and director of White House Down.

Read more via whcinsider.com: White House Historical Association and Kennedy Center Host Presidential Sites Summit

Watch more Presidential Sites Summit events live on CSPAN.