Nicolle Wallace (née Devenish)(born 1972) is a best-selling author and political commentator. She previously served as communications chief during the presidency of George W. Bush and in his 2004 re-election campaign. In 2008, Wallace also served as a senior advisor for the McCain–Palin campaign.
Her first novel, New York Times bestseller Eighteen Acres,[1] about the first female U.S. President was released in October 2010.
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Briefly an on-air reporter in California, Wallace started her political career working in California state politics.[2]
In 1999 she moved to Florida to serve as Governor Jeb Bush’s press secretary and then became the Communications Director for the Florida State Technology Office in 2000.[3] Wallace worked on the 2000 Florida election recount.[4]
Wallace joined the White House staff during President George W. Bush’s first term, serving as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Media Affairs at the White House where she oversaw regional press strategy and outreach.[5]
In 2003, Wallace joined the Bush–Cheney ’04 campaign as the Communications Director, where according to The New York Times, “she delivered her political attacks without snarling.”[6]
On January 5, 2005, President George W. Bush named Wallace White House Communications Director.[5] The New York Times story announcing her presidential appointment carried the headline: “New Aide Aims to Defrost the Press Room,” and described Wallace’s intentions “to improve the contentious relationship between a secretive White House and the press.”[6] According to The Washington Post, Wallace served as “a voice for more openness with reporters” and former colleagues describe Wallace as having been “very persuasive in the halls of the West Wing.”[4]
Her White House colleague, presidential political advisor Mark McKinnon, called her a "rare talent in politics."[7]
Wallace also served as a senior advisor for the McCain-Palin campaign in 2008. She appeared frequently on network and cable news programs as the campaign’s top spokesman and defender.[8] In response to reports of dissension within the McCain-Palin camp in late October 2008, Wallace gave the same statement to both Politico and CNN: "If people want to throw me under the bus, my personal belief is that the most honorable thing to do is to lie there."[9][10]
Wallace is a political commentator regularly featured on television news programs.
She is the author of the 2010 novel Eighteen Acres (a reference to the 18 acres on which the White House complex sits),[11] a fictional narrative about three powerful women at the top of their careers – the first female U.S. President, her chief of staff and a White House correspondent. Wallace said, “It’s my best attempt at a story that I hope people will pick up and read and enjoy and maybe feel like they’re getting to see what it’s really like in the White House in this entirely fictional story.”[12]
Eighteen Acres received praise from several sources and across the political spectrum. The Washington Post book reviewer called it "one of the best novels I've read about life in the White House... Her book is both an enjoyable read and a serious look at what high-level political pressures do to people."[13] USA Today said "Nicolle Wallace actually knows what she's talking about"[14] and The New York Times called the book "an engaging, easy read."[15] TV personalities such as George Stephanopoulos,[16] Rachel Maddow,[17] John King,[18] and Andrea Mitchell[19] also praised Eighteen Acres.
In September 2011, Wallace published the sequel to Eighteen Acres, It's Classified.[20]
Wallace is a California native. She grew up in Orinda, California, an affluent town across the bay from San Francisco, where her mother was a third-grade teacher assistant in the public schools and her father was an antiques dealer.[21] Her grandfather Thomas Devenish was a well-known Manhattan antiques dealer "Devenish and Company" known for his discerning eye for fine quality 18th century English furniture.[22] Wallace, a 1990 graduate of Miramonte High School, received a B.A. in Mass Communications from the University of California, Berkeley and a master's degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.[3][23] She lives in New York City and Connecticut with her husband, Mark Wallace, and their vizsla dog Lilly.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dan Bartlett |
White House Communications Director January 2005 – July 2006 |
Succeeded by Kevin Sullivan |