Victoria Clarke
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Victoria "Torie" Clarke (born May 18, 1959) is an American communications consultant who has served in several private sector positions and in three Republican presidential administrations, most notably as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs under Donald Rumsfeld. She is a frequent guest on the roundtable on
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
' '' This Week'' with
George Stephanopoulos George Robert Stephanopoulos (born February 10, 1961) is an American television host, political commentator, and former Democratic advisor. Stephanopoulos currently is a news presenter, coanchor with Robin Roberts (newscaster), Robin Roberts and M ...
. On May 20, 2008, she made her first appearance on '' The Tony Kornheiser Show'', on which she continues to be featured regularly as a rotating co-host.


Early life and education

Born in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, to Dr. and Mrs. Charles E. Clarke, Clarke graduated from
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism.


Career

Clarke began her career as a photographer for the '' Washington Star''. She was president of Bozell Eskew Advertising, vice president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and the Washington office director for the public-relations firm of Hill & Knowlton. Clarke has served as the press secretary to
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
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 ...
and held positions on the staff of Presidents
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 ...
and
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
. She subsequently moved to
the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs during President
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 ...
's first term in office, under Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Clarke worked as the Senior Advisor of Communications and Government Relations for Comcast Corporation before moving to
SAP AG Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a sep ...
to take the role of Head of Corporate Affairs. Clarke has been a close colleague of Mary Matalin since the
Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...
. Clarke often filled in for Matalin on the show '' Equal Time'' during its run on
CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
in the 1990s. Clarke is the author of ''Lipstick on a Pig: Winning In the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game'' (2006, ), a book about tackling 21st century information challenges. Clarke appeared on the February 7, 2006, episode of ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
'' to promote it.


Personal life

Clarke is a Republican. She is married to J. Brian Graham, a Democrat. She is the mother of two sons, Colin and Charlie, and a daughter, Devan, who is an equestrian. Her sister, Caitlin Clarke, was an actress who died in 2004. She and her family live in suburban Washington, D.C. in the Salmon-Stohlman House. In the
2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...
, Clarke endorsed
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
.


References


External links


Profile of ClarkeTorie Clarke's campaign contributions
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Victoria Living people 1959 births People from Pittsburgh George Washington University alumni Harvard Institute of Politics People from Bethesda, Maryland Pennsylvania Republicans United States Assistant Secretaries of Defense People from Somerset, Maryland