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Ben Rhodes Announces Memoir of Time in Obama Admin Called 'The World as It Is'

Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama / Getty Images
February 22, 2018

Former top Obama administration official Ben Rhodes announced Thursday the release date of his forthcoming book, which will detail his time in the White House.

The book, entitled The World as It Is, will be released on June 12, according to a tweet he sent out.

Rhodes moved up from speechwriter for President Barack Obama to deputy national security adviser. His book will cover events such as the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Arab Spring, negotiations with Cuba, and the Iran nuclear deal.

In 2016, Rhodes gave a now-infamous interview to New York Times Magazine in which he said that the administration had created an "echo chamber" concerning the Iran nuclear deal.

He was referring to a large number of "arms-control experts" who "hundreds of often-clueless reporters" relied on for information about the nuclear deal, one of the key achievements of Obama's second term.

Rhodes admitted in the interview that the "experts" were just echoing the Obama administration's findings. "They were saying things that validated what we had given them to say," he said.

"They literally know nothing," Rhodes said, referring to younger reporters covering the deal.

The interview received criticism for Rhodes' perceived arrogance and admittance of media manipulation.

Rhodes has a Masters of Fine Arts degree in creative writing.