Richard Gardner Reed (May 24, 1953 – August 17, 2022) was an American advertising agent. A member of the Republican Party, Reed was known for his

attack ad In political campaigns, an attack ad is an advertisement designed to wage a personal attack against an opposing candidate or political party in order to gain support for the attacking candidate and attract voters. Attack ads often form part of ...

s against

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

during the

2004 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney, were re-elected to a second term. They narrowly defeated ...

, which led to the coining of the term '' swiftboating''.

Biography

Reed was born in

Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston, greater Boston metropolitan area, municipal corporation, incorporated in 1812 in the United States, 1812 and located about north-nor ...

, to Priscilla Swett, a

physician assistant A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of non-physician practitioner. While these job titles are used internationally, there is significant variation in training and scope of practice from country to country, and sometimes be ...

, and Gardner Chase Reed, a

financial advisor A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

. He was raised in

Chatham, Massachusetts Chatham () is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Chatham is located at the southeastern tip of Cape Cod and has historically been a fishing community. First settled by th ...

. Reed attended the

Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1787 as Franklin College and later merged with Marshall College in 1853, it is one of the oldest colleges in the United St ...

, graduating in 1975. He also attended

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

, where he earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

. Reed had worked for

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

's unsuccessful 1976 presidential campaign. He was later hired to work at Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm, a campaign advertising firm. Reed worked on advertising campaigns for many Republican politicians, including

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, Peter Fitzgerald,

John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Republican Party, Republican United Stat ...

, and

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...

. He was involved in

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

's 2000 presidential campaign. In 2004, he became known for his "Swift Boat" attack ads against

, which accused Kerry of lying about his service in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The ads, produced for the group Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, lead to the coining of the term '' swiftboating'' to describe an unfair or untrue political attack. He helped produce ads for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's 2016 campaign and served as Trump's media advisor.

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

presenter

Tucker Carlson Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American conservative political commentator who hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Since his contract with Fox News was term ...

described Reed as "the smartest political consultant I know". Reed died in August 2022 at his home in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, at the age of 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Rick 1953 births 2022 deaths People from Wakefield, Massachusetts Massachusetts Republicans Virginia Republicans American advertising executives American political consultants 20th-century American people 21st-century American businesspeople Franklin & Marshall College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni