Gary Ginsberg

This article has been adapted from Gary Ginsberg's first book, First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (And Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents. Twenty-one months into his term in the White House, the youngest elected president in American history found himself facing a crisis so grave that it threatened not only his political life but also humanity itself.

Gary Ginsberg profiles the confidants of nine U.S. presidents who helped their respective commanders in chief chill out, strategize and make history. Everyone needs a BFF, especially people in high places: someone to lean on in good times and bad. When President Bill Clinton got himself into a pickle or wanted to play 18 holes, he’d tell his staff, “Call Vernon.” Were it not for his buddy Vernon Jordan, Clinton might not have wound up in the White House.

Gary Ginsberg’s proximity to power during his years as a lawyer in the Clinton White House gave him a keen understanding of how influence works in the executive branch. But the spark for his new book, “First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (and Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents,” came from his observations of two other political figures: Gary Hart and Donald Trump.