NYT recalls veteran reporter from Jerusalem to cover Trump
After just a few months as the paper’s Jerusalem chief, Peter Baker assigned ‘the most extraordinary story in Washington in years’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
WASHINGTON — After just a few months in Jerusalem, Peter Baker is going home.
The veteran Washington journalist, who became The New York Times’s Jerusalem bureau chief earlier this year, has been summoned back to the US capital to play a pivotal role in the publication’s coverage of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Baker, who was the paper’s chief White House correspondent during most of the Barack Obama years, also covered the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush for The Washington Post. In January 2016, he was sent to Israel to replace Jodi Rudoren after her four-year tenure in Jerusalem ended.
Last week, Baker made an announcement on Facebook saying “the Trump Effect has spread” and that he was being recalled back to cover the incoming administration.
It was an unusual move on the part of The Times to end Baker’s term in Jerusalem early, as it generally has its bureau chief serve in four-year stints.
Editor Dean Baquet told The Washington Post the move was intended to ensure the paper has experienced White House reporters prepared for the uncertain waters of a Trump administration. “Obviously this is part of an effort to cover the most extraordinary story in Washington in years,” he said.
Baquet stated that bringing in Baker was a unanimous decision made by Washington bureau chief Elisabeth Bumiller, managing editor Joe Kahn and deputy managing editor Matthew Purdy, who all “saw the need for a big robust team to cover an exceptional moment.”
Beyond his newspaper reporting, Baker has written widely praised books about American presidents, including on the impeachment proceedings of Bill Clinton and the unique relationship between George W. Bush and his vice president, Dick Cheney.
“Peter is an expert on the presidency, how presidents change the job and how they fit into history,” Baquet said. “This will be an historic presidency and he should be part of the coverage.”
Baker is currently working on a biography of former secretary of state Jim Baker along with his wife, Susan Glasser, the former editor-in-chief of Politico, soon to be its chief international affairs columnist.
The New York Times White House team will also include Julie Davis, Maggie Haberman, Mark Landler, Michael Shear and Glenn Thrush, who was hired from Politico last week.
The Times of Israel Community.