Sep 2, 2026 · 19 min · 10 segments
The Strategerist welcomed Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary. He was the primary spokesperson for President Bush and delivered the daily White House press briefings from 2001 to 2003…
Ari FleischerGuestStrategerist HostHostWell, first off, before we do that, we've got an election.
So that all went according to script, very smooth.
Yeah, very smooth.
What was that lead up like before taking office, but then in that recount period?
We thought we were going into election night with a good lead that we were going to win by a nice margin.
And when it went into recounts, how could this be? And then every time I remember the spokesman for the Florida Supreme Court coming out of the steps of the Supreme Court in Tallahassee to make a ruling, announce a ruling by the Supreme Court, we shivered because we knew this wasn't going to go for George W.
Now, the ups and the downs, the topsy-turvy nature of it, it was just remarkable.
But we were losing so much time in the transition to make personnel decisions, policy decisions.
He actually sent me and Dick Cheney to Washington, D.C. early to set up a transition into office, even though no one knew if we won the election or not.
in anticipation of a real transition and a real win, but that didn't come until two weeks later, so it was a total of six weeks, two weeks after I got to Washington when the Supreme Court ruled.
Well, first off, before we do that, we've got an election.
So that all went according to script, very smooth.
Yeah, very smooth.
What was that lead up like before taking office, but then in that recount period?
We thought we were going into election night with a good lead that we were going to win by a nice margin.
And when it went into recounts, how could this be? And then every time I remember the spokesman for the Florida Supreme Court coming out of the steps of the Supreme Court in Tallahassee to make a ruling, announce a ruling by the Supreme Court, we shivered because we knew this wasn't going to go for George W.
Now, the ups and the downs, the topsy-turvy nature of it, it was just remarkable.
But we were losing so much time in the transition to make personnel decisions, policy decisions.
He actually sent me and Dick Cheney to Washington, D.C. early to set up a transition into office, even though no one knew if we won the election or not.
in anticipation of a real transition and a real win, but that didn't come until two weeks later, so it was a total of six weeks, two weeks after I got to Washington when the Supreme Court ruled.
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