NI-born White House insider to give Trump lecture at Queen's

Niall Stanage grew up in Carryduff and attended Methodist College Belfast before his passion for politics took him to Washington where he now holds the position of White House columnist for political insider newspaper The Hill.

Next Thursday he will be at Queen’s University for what promises to be one of the most fascinating lectures to be delivered at the university this year.

Niall covered the 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton extensively, reporting first-hand from the first caucuses in Iowa, through the party conventions and presidential debates, and from Trump headquarters on election day itself.

These days, he is at the White House on a near-daily basis, writing his widely read Hill column, ‘The Memo’.

His lecture will offer insights from the 2016 presidential election campaign trail, reveal what it’s like to report from inside the White House and assess the most controversial president of modern times.

Niall, who has covered every presidential election since 2004, also wrote a bestselling book, ‘Redemption Song’ about Barack Obama’s 2008 quest for the White House.

Speaking ahead of the event, Niall said: “Covering the Trump campaign last year and Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008 gave me a ringside seat for the two most dramatic presidential elections in decades.

“My lecture will look at the reasons Trump won, what it was like to see the campaign unfold and how I view the first 100 days of the Trump era.”