As Donald Trump prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address on the heels of reports he had an affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels, one former White House speechwriter offered up a lesson from what Bill Clinton did in 1998: Stick to policy." June Shih, one of the architects of that address – which Clinton delivered just four days after news broke of the scandal involving Monica Lewinsky – said focusing on his ideas made Clinton’s speech “a very triumphant moment.”

Women Rule spoke to four former presidential speechwriters – including Mary Kate Cary of the George HW Bush White House, Vinca LaFleur of the Clinton White House and Sarada Peri of the Obama White House – about their experiences writing the addresses, their advice for Trump’s speechwriting team and why there are so few women at the highest levels of the profession.

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