John Harwood

Award-Winning Political Journalist & White House Correspondent

John Harwood

Award-Winning Political Journalist & White House Correspondent

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Biography

Award-winning journalist John Harwood is a widely-respected nonpartisan expert in presidential politics and an admired voice in American homes renowned for his compelling explorations into headline-grabbing events in Washington, as well as his must-see interviews with some of the most influential leaders shaping the future of our nation.

For more than three decades, John Harwood has covered the White House, Congress, national politics and the economy for America’s most prestigious news organizations. He has interviewed every president from George H.W. Bush to Joe Biden, and received an Emmy nomination for his hour-long live CNBC town hall with President Barack Obama.

Steeped in public affairs since childhood, when his father was among the nation’s top journalists of the last half of the 20th century, he graduated from Duke University with degrees in history and economics. He spent a year as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard.

For the Wall Street Journal, Harwood covered the first Bush White House, President Bill Clinton’s agenda in Congress and four presidential campaigns. He was part of the Journal’s team covering the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, which won the Pulitzer Prize. For the New York Times and CNBC, he chronicled the financial crisis and Great Recession, including the first 2009 television interview of Obama as he prepared to enter the presidency that January. He moderated Republican presidential debates during the 2012 and 2016 campaigns.

For CNN, Harwood covered the tumultuous final year of Donald Trump’s presidency, and his 2020 election battle with Biden. He subsequently tracked the new chief executive’s attempt to fashion and navigate a post-Trump era. No one is better equipped to interpret and explain the ups and downs of American elections and the intersection of politics and the economy. At this turbulent moment, a lifetime’s experience gives him unique perspective on the challenges facing journalism and its role in our democracy.

Speaker Videos

Politics: John Harwood Interviews President Obama

Speech Topics

The Current Political Moment

This is hardly the first time American politics have been bitterly divided. But it’s the first time it’s been bitterly divided in this way. Fundamental changes in economic opportunity are coinciding with accelerating shifts in the nation’s demography and culture; one party embraces those shifts, the other resists them. With insight, humor, and rich personal stories, John Harwood draws on decades of work for the most prestigious outlets on the media landscape to describe the unpredictable electoral outlook that collision of forces has produced.

Washington and The Economy

America’s $17-trillion economy moves in rhythms all its own. But what happens in Washington — taxes, spending, regulations, interest rates — helps shape which businesses prosper, what workers earn, and whether jobs are plentiful. John Harwood, who has spent decades covering those issues in print for the Wall Street Journal and on television for CNBC, takes audiences through choices facing the White House, Congress and the Federal Reserve and how they matter for their pocketbooks.

Journalism & the Threat to Democracy

That 21st century American journalism and democracy both find themselves in crisis is no coincidence. Economic and cultural changes have shredded the pool of commonly-accepted information, and with it the credibility of media organizations among other institutions. As January 6 demonstrated, a vast swath of the country angrily rejects plainly-visible facts about the nation’s elections. That creates a wrenching dilemma for the financially-fragile business of journalism – more bluntness, or more solicitousness toward its skeptics? In print and on television, conducting interviews and moderating presidential debates, John Harwood has been on the firing line and can help audiences understand the escalating challenges ahead.

Moderating Your Panel with Energy, Humor & Insight

From conducting a live town hall with the sitting President to moderating campaign debates of those seeking the office, John Harwood has faced the brightest of American spotlights. Over the last three decades, he has been in conversation with a broad range of national leaders, from the White House to Wall Street, from Congress to Cabinet agencies. That’s ideal preparation for delivering lively and interesting on-stage events touching on politics, the economy, and the state of democracy. Instantly recognizable from his years on television, he asks the questions and draws out the insights that interest your audience — and he does it with energy and humor.