Nils Barrett on President Gerald Ford, First Lady Betty Ford, His Father Bob Barrett, and the Impact of Living a Life of Service

Today we have an inside look into life in the Ford White House thanks to Bob Barrett’s new book Inside the President’s Team: Family, Service, and the Gerald Ford Presidency, which comes out January 7. In this book, Bob — who was one of President Ford’s most trusted advisers — gives us a behind-the-curtain view of the Ford presidency as, second to Gerald Ford’s wife Betty Ford, no one was closer to the president during his administration than Bob Barrett. Bob carried the “nuclear football” of the American nuclear codes, and literally couldn’t let President Ford out of his sight. This led to a deep friendship with the First Family and gave Bob an inside look into the administration, which, born through President Nixon’s resignation over Watergate, will always hold a unique place in history. In Inside the President’s Team, we go inside the White House and inside the First Family in a way we’ve never really seen before. I want to pause here and say that I loved the insights on First Lady Betty Ford — you all know I love to study First Ladies, and she is one of my favorites. Inside the President’s Team talks about why Ford decided to pardon Nixon for Watergate, and how he responded to criticism over his decision; what happened during the two assassination attempts on President Ford; and even about Betty Ford’s intervention. President Ford was, as Bob puts it, “the most decent, honorable, trustworthy person I ever met.” Now, Bob actually passed away in 2022, so we have today on the show his son Nils Barrett to talk about his father and this remarkable book. We chat about how the Ford presidency already is remembered to history 50 years later and how it might be remembered 50 years from now; who both Bob Barrett and Gerald Ford were at their core; and how Bob continued serving Ford after his time in office ended, helping develop the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Betty Ford Center for drug and alcohol rehabilitation in Rancho Mirage, California. Ultimately, this book celebrates living a life of service, and Bob himself served two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Army and attained the rank of major. He worked at the United States Army War College as its Public Affairs and Communications officer and was offered the role of military aid to President Ford at the start of his administration — hence the nuclear football. I can’t wait for you to get to know him through the eyes of his son. 

Inside the President’s Team: Family, Service, and the Gerald Ford Presidency by Bob Barrett