OAN Staff Abril Elfi
8:45 AM – Saturday, July 12, 2025
David Gergen, a longtime political advisor who served under four U.S. presidents—Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton— has passed away at 83 years old.
Gergen died on July 10th at a Massachusetts retirement facility after a battle with Lewy body dementia (LBD), his son confirmed to multiple news outlets.
Following the news of his death, tributes poured in on social media from those who knew and respected him.
“David Gergen was total professional and a really kind man. My thoughts are with his family. He loved politics and he loved being in service to this country,” wrote former California first lady Maria Shriver on X.
Former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) shared, “We lost a good one, a really good one – RIP, my friend David Gergen.”
Gergen was credited with crafting the memorable line delivered by then-presidential candidate Reagan during the 1980 campaign: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” as noted by The New York Times.
Reflecting on the phrase, Gergen once commented, “Rhetorical questions have great power.”
In a 1981 interview with The Washington Post, Gergen recounted his time in the Nixon White House, saying, “I was young, and I was too naive. It hardened me up a lot. It was an extremely difficult experience emotionally, in terms of belief in people.”
After stepping away from politics, Gergen continued his influence through journalism and academia. He held roles as an editor and columnist and was affiliated with both the conservative American Enterprise Institute and Harvard’s more liberal Kennedy School of Government. He also became a familiar voice in broadcast media, offering commentary on PBS, CNN, and NPR.
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