Abby Phillip anchors NewsNight with Abby Phillip airing weeknights at 10pmET. She takes a smart and sharp approach to the day’s biggest stories, driven by the facts and pursuit of the truth. With her award-winning background in dogged Washington reporting, Phillip brings unique context to the complexity of current affairs. Phillip keeps the powerful honest in hard-hitting interviews and hosts interesting conversations with a variety of perspectives.
She was previously CNN’s senior political correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics Sunday. She joined the network in 2017 to cover the Trump Administration and served as a White House Correspondent through 2019. In January 2020, she moderated CNN’s Democratic Presidential Debate in Iowa. She also anchored special coverage of Election Night in America surrounding the 2020 election. In January 2021, she anchored the CNN Special Report: Kamala Harris: Making History about the Vice President’s barrier-breaking career and the childhood experiences that helped shape her. Phillip has been an essential player in CNN’s Special Coverage of a range of political events, including election nights, State of the Union Addresses and the January 6th Committee hearings.
Phillip joined CNN from The Washington Post, she previously worked at ABC News and Politico. Throughout her career she has covered multiple presidents, campaign finance, lobbying, and several presidential campaigns. Phillip was named to the Time 100 Next list in 2021 and she was the recipient of the National Urban League’s Women of Power award.
Phillip was raised in Bowie, Md. and is a graduate of Harvard University with a degree in Government. When not on television, she spends time with her husband, daughter and their pup Booker T. She is also the author of a new biography, A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power, telling the story of the civil rights leader, activist, raconteur, and political candidate, Jesse Jackson.
I approached this story as a journalist first. But I also recognize that who tells the story matters as well. It’s no secret that Jesse Jackson was as controversial a figure as he was consequential. And it’s not possible to tell the story of his political impact without fully addressing those chapters. But it is also true that his life warranted a deeper look — beyond the headlines. And so many of the stories that were written about him when he ran in 1984 and 1988 failed to see his campaign as anything more than a fool’s errand simply because he didn’t look and sound like anyone who had ever run for president at that level before. For millions of Americans, including Black Americans, Jackson was seen completely differently. And my hope in this book was to better balance those perspectives as I explored this history. Plus, there were so many fascinating stories: Jesse Jackson traveling to Syria in the middle of the presidential campaign to free a captive American soldier. His visit to see segregationist former Governor George Wallace and the conversation they had about running for president. His campaign stops deep in rural America and the white farmers who at first were skeptical but later became fans. There were so many great stories, and that’s journalism at its core.
Absolutely. In fact, one of the primary reasons I wanted to tell this story was to really ask the question: if we knew then what we know now, would Jackson’s campaigns really have seemed so improbable. There are so many parallels between Jackson and current political figures in both parties, both in terms of style and substance. Before Donald Trump was a candidate, Jesse Jackson was the quintessential celebrity candidate. Before Bernie Sanders ran on a platform of economic populism, Jesse Jackson pioneered that message, arguing that the government and economy should function better for working class Americans. And before Barack Obama ran on a message of hope, Jesse Jackson rallied thousands with the message “keep hope alive.” All those things were seen as unorthodox when he ran for president in the 1980s. When we ask the questions: how did we get here? And: where do we go from here? This book argues that Jackson’s dream of a “Rainbow Coalition” has only been partly realized. Today, the Democratic Party has successfully organized itself around social justice issues, but has struggled to appeal to voters on a unifying economic message. But can it unify a diverse political party around shared economic interests? That’s the goal that Jackson had that he was never fully able to achieve. And it remains to be seen if any politician today can.
As a journalist, it’s a major milestone in my career to write a book. The cliche goes journalism is the rough draft of history. And I believe writing a book is the second draft. I’m proud to have contributed in some small way to the historical record and to a better understanding of one of the most prominent figures in modern history. And doing so as a Black woman journalist is so important because that perspective is often lacking in these kinds of projects.
Stay curious and always keep learning.
Beyoncé! Because she has the same 24 hours in her day that I do and yet can perfect her craft to a degree that few of us will be able to attain. The hard work, attention to detail, and depth of thought that goes into everything that she does is something I greatly admire.
Noise canceling headphones! I need to create a Zen space even in the most chaotic environments.
Monochromatic looks, especially moody browns. I have always been for that trend so now that fashion has caught up, I’m very excited!
This is hard! There have been so many books that have impacted different stages of my life. But in this life stage, as a busy working mother in her 30s: “Brain Energy” by Christopher Palmer. I spend a lot of time thinking about how to maximize my energy and mental health. And this book is both enlightening and empowering about the impact of genetics, and lifestyle on mental health. It’s a must read for anyone with a personal or family history of mental health challenges.
