David Gergen Dead At 83

David Gergen, former advisor to several Republican presidents, passed away at the age of 83 on Thursday, according to reports.

Gergen passed away at a retirement community in Lexington, Mass. following a battle with Lewy body dementia, his son Christopher told the New York Times.

David Gergen was born May 9, 1942, in Durham, N.C. and was the youngest of four, the outlet noted. Gergen attended Yale University, where he was the managing editor of the student newspaper The Yale Daily News. He also spent three summers interning for former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Terry Sanford, where he worked on civil rights issues. He graduated in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in American studies.

In 1967, Gergen received a law degree from Yale and joined the United States Navy the same year, where he mainly served as an officer on a ship based in Japan, according to the outlet.

His first job in politics came when he landed a spot in former Republican President Richard Nixon‘s administration, where he eventually worked his way up to chief speechwriter, according to the outlet. “He used to tell me, ‘About the time you are writing a line that you have written it so often that you want to throw up, that is the first time the American people will hear it’,” he once said about his time as a speechwriter, according to the outlet.

In 1980, Gergen helped former Republican President Ronald Reagan secure a victory over incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter, the outlet noted. During a televised debate, Reagan asked the viewers a question—suggested by Gergen—that sealed his victory: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” “Rhetorical questions have great power,” Gergen would say years later, according to the outlet.

The outlet noted that Gergen was also credited as the one who advised Reagan to tone down his “in-your-face” conservative rhetoric.

Gergen was instrumental in writing speeches, briefing news reporters, creating communications strategies and helping to set the agenda for four presidents — Republicans Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan and, later, Democrat Bill Clinton.

His tenure in the Clinton administration didn’t even last a year because of internal tensions, the outlet reported. Gergen was viewed as a meddler by Democrats and a defector by Republicans.  Still, when he left politics in the mid-1990s, he was praised by all the presidents he had served, according to the outlet.

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 29: U.S. President Bill Clinton (C) speaks to reporters 29 May 1993 in the Rose Garden of the White House announcing the appointment of David Gergen (R) to oversee the White House communications operation. Gergen will replace George Stephanopoulos who will move to a senior policy role. At left is Vice President Al Gore. (Photo credit should read JENNIFER LAW/AFP via Getty Images)

The outlet also said Gergen had a laidback personality and a laugh that made him popular with most reporters. He also leaked information enough to acquire the nickname “the Sieve,” according to the outlet.

Gergen’s career eventually led him to journalism in 1978 when he became the managing editor of Public Opinion—a conservative publication owned by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the outlet reported. Then in the 1980s, Gergen became an editor of U.S News & World Report, where he was a columnist. He was also a regular commentator featured on The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour on PBS and programs on CNN.

Gergen wrote a negative column for CNN in 2021 directed at President Donald Trump, calling him “A bully — mean, nasty and disrespectful of anyone in his way.” (RELATED: CNN Analyst David Gergen: Trump Will Have ‘Blood’ On His Hands If Someone Attacks The Press)

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 7: New White House Communications Director Mark Gearan (L) answers a reporter’s question 07 June after being introduced by presidential adviser David Gergen (R) in the White House briefing room. Gearan will brief reporters several afternoons a week, and Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers will continue to handle morning briefings. (Photo credit should read PAUL RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Gergen was also the author of “Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton,” which he wrote in 2000. He talked about the importance of political leaders to develop a “capacity to persuade” and “an ability to work within the system.” He later wrote “Hearts Touched With Fire: How Great Leaders Are Made” in 2022, which was essentially an updated version of his first book.

Gergen said that the one thing he never did while working in several White Houses was lie, according to an interview he did with The Christian Science Monitor in 1981.

“I feel the moment you walk out there and lie to the press, that you’re finished,” he told the outlet.

“You’re of no value to the president at that point and you’re of no value to anyone else,” he went on to say.

Gergen is survived by his wife, Anne; his son, Christopher; his daughter, Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett; his two brothers, John and Kenneth; and five grandchildren.