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Inaugural Series: Ford

Photo by Janet Donovan
Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld at home in Georgetown
Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld at home in Georgetown

“Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford shall be sworn in as President at that hour in this office.” President Richard M. Nixon

“Since the Fords came in by accident, they needed a press secretary and Mrs. Ford needed a press secretary. I went for the interview and got the job.” Sheila Weidenfeld

Weidenfeld recounts the many up and downs of her job and how she and The First Lady formed a kind of mother-daughter relationship.

What she learned upon leaving the White House before the Carters arrived: “There is a certain gloom and awkwardness to it. I took the last day to sign out.”