Talk of the Hill with Bill Press: USA Today’s Susan Page discusses her new book The Queen and Her Presidents
The Crown meets The West Wing in this illuminating history that chronicles the largely unknown story of Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship with thirteen American presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Donald J. Trump, and changed world history.
No American or foreign leader has met with as many sitting presidents as Queen Elizabeth II. Her Royal Majesty’s seventy-year reign witnessed the highs and lows of the close and crucial alliance between the U.S. and the U.K., from the Suez crisis to Brexit.
Following the advice of her mentor, Winston Churchill, to “stay close to the Americans,” Queen Elizabeth played an unexpected role behind the scenes that has never been thoroughly explored. In The Queen and Her Presidents, veteran political reporter Susan Page goes beyond the image of a staid monarch in colorful hats to reveal a skilled strategist, who, like many powerful women, was routinely underestimated and discounted. Page also shows the impact American presidents had on the monarch as she developed from a shy, anxious princess to a powerful and persuasive global leader, and analyzes both the reach and the limits of the “soft power” she wielded. These accounts of the Queen’s deft diplomacy provide candid and telling assessments of her partners in the Oval Office as well.
Susan Page is the Washington Bureau chief of USA TODAY, where she writes about the White House and national politics. She is also The New York Times best-selling author of several books, including Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power; The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters, and The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty. Her latest book, The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand that Shaped History, was published by Harper in April 2026. In 2024, Susan covered her twelfth presidential election and is now covering her eighth White House administration. She has reported from six continents and interviewed the past ten presidents (three after they left office). She also has served as president of the White House Correspondents Association and of the Gridiron Club and Foundation, the oldest association of journalists in Washington. Among her awards are the White House Correspondents Association Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure; the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage; the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency, and the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Washington Correspondence. The Washington Press Club Foundation in 2026 presented her with its lifetime achievement award. In 2020, she moderated the vice-presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris. (Yes, that was the one with the fly.)
Bill Press began his career as a political insider and media commentator on KABC-TV and KCOP-TV, both in Los Angeles. Over the years, he has received numerous awards for his work, including four Emmys and a Golden Mike Award. He also served as aide to California Governor Jerry Brown and was Chair of the California Democratic Party from 1993 to 1996.
The former co-host of MSNBC’s Buchanan and Press, CNN’s Crossfire and The Spin Room, Press has built a national reputation on thought-provoking and humorous insights from the left side of the political aisle. Press is the author of ten books and is the host of the twice-weekly “The Bill Press Pod” – available on Google, Apple, Spotify, or Tune-In. He’s a member of the White House press corps. He also writes a weekly column for The Hill and a weekly syndicated newspaper column distributed by Tribune Media Services.
Books will be available for sale. A book signing will follow the discussion.
