Update: "Ambassador Wintour" Rumor Makes It Back to the White House.
Rumors about Anna Wintour being in the running for an ambassadorship
are so strong that they've made it all the way back to Washington.
ABC reporter Jake Tapper brought up the rumor — although indirectly —
at yesterday's White House press briefing, asking press secretary Jay
Carney what the president looks for in an ambassador.
Carney said he was "not going to engage in speculation about possible
personnel announcements," adding that the president "looks for talent,
wisdom, and character in all of his appointees, and he would do that
regardless of the position."
After a few follow-up questions, Tapper jokingly asked whether the president had ever seen The Devil Wears Prada.
Serious speculation that Wintour might be appointed ambassador to the UK or France arose last week when Bloomberg reported Wintour's campaign fundraising efforts for President Obama made her a top contender for the positions.
While rumors have circulated for years that Wintour would leave Vogue
for a post in the diplomatic corps, "two people familiar with the
matter" said Obama has considered nominating Wintour for one of the two
positions. Wintour was one of Obama's top campaign bundlers
in 2012, raising over $500,000 for his reelection effort through
dinners and other events. The Runway to Win line of campaign merchandise
— which Wintour spearheaded — raised another $40 million.
Wintour is said to be in competition with two other top bundlers,
businessmen Matthew Barzun and Marc Lasry. If Obama does nominate
Wintour and she makes it through Senate confirmation for either
position, she'd replace Ambassador Louis Susman in London or Ambassador
Charles Rivkin in Paris. Obama nominated both men for their positions
after he was elected president in 2008, and neither is expected to take
on a second term.
But would Wintour really leave fashion for politics? A Vogue spokeswoman told Bloomberg that Wintour is "happy with her current job," and friends of Wintour's have said in the past that she "has absolutely no interest in an ambassadorship."
Source: Getty
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