Except for his wife Betty, no one was closer to Gerald Ford during his presidency than Bob Barrett. As Ford’s Chief of Staff, Bob carried the “nuclear football”—the American nuclear codes—and could not let Ford out of his sight. This nerve-wracking job led to a deep friendship with the First Family and gave Bob an unparalleled view of Ford’s historic and unusual presidency.
In his memoir, Inside the President’s Team: Family, Service, and the Gerald Ford Presidency, Bob Barrett takes readers into the White House and the Ford home to show the administration and the couple as few others could see them. Bob Barrett died in 2022 at 83. His son, Nils Barrett, joins us today to speak about his late father’s memoir.
