CNN Analyst Dies of Lewy Body Dementia: David Gergen Was 83

David Gergen, a longtime CNN political analyst who served as a presidential adviser to four presidents, has died. He was 83.

Gergen, who began his political career in Richard Nixon’s White House before serving as communications director for Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan and a counselor to President Bill Clinton, died Thursday due to Lewy body dementia, his son confirmed to CNN.

A spokesperson for Gergen’s former home network said he was “always happy to share his wisdom and his spotlight with others.”

“A political scholar who served four presidents of both parties, an adoring father and dedicated husband, a senior statesman in every sense of the word, and a tireless educator. But above all else, David was a relentlessly kind and warm person,” the spokesperson said, adding that “our staff, contributors, and audiences are better informed because of his towering influence.”

In addition to his work in politics and as a commentator on CNN, Gergen worked as a Harvard professor and was the founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Following his death, former Vice President Al Gore paid tribute to Gergen on social media. “Of the countless ways that David Gergen contributed to our great country, what I will remember him for most was his kindness to everyone he worked with, his sound judgment, and his devotion to doing good in the world,” Gore wrote. “His innate interest in helping others was what made him so skillful at bypassing the politics of an issue to focus on what really mattered to the American people. I am grateful for the years I worked with him and for his friendship. He was a great man.”

In December, Gergen’s daughter, Katherine Gergen Barnett, shared that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, writing in a column for the Boston Globe some of her father’s final thoughts on the state of politics today.

“As awful as life is currently in the public sphere, there is still reason to believe in our country and its leadership and to go into service,” she quoted from her father, who believed that the nation was “going through a period of fear” following President Donald Trump’s election in November 2024.

“We have been tested, we are being tested now, but we must recognize that politics in our country is like a pendulum,” he told his daughter. “We must hold onto the inspirational moments of our history and use them to light our path forward.”