Body man

Reggie Love, left, Barack Obama's body man from 2009 to 2011, is seen here in a presidential motorcade outside Strasbourg for the NATO Summit, April 2009

Elliott Frutkin, acting as President Bill Clinton's Interim body man in 1994-1995, seen here far right, screens line approaching the President during meet and greet at the Conference on Trade & Investment-Central and Eastern Europe, January 1995

A body man or body woman is, in U.S. political jargon, a personal assistant and sometimes valet to a politician or political candidate. Such a person accompanies the politician or candidate virtually everywhere, often arranging lodging, transportation, and meals, and providing snacks, a cell phone, and any other necessary assistance.

List of notable body men and body women

• Kris Engskov, aide to President Bill Clinton, 1997–2000
• Thomas Frechette, aide to President George H.W. Bush, 2001–2006
• Blake Gottesman, aide to President George W. Bush, 2001–2006
• Reggie Love, aide to President Barack Obama, 2009–2011
• Huma Abedin, aide to Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 2000–present^[1]

Fictional

• Charlie Young (played by Dulé Hill), personal assistant to President Josiah Bartlet for the first six years of the NBC TV series, The West Wing
• Gary Walsh (played by Tony Hale), personal aide to Vice-President Selina Meyer in the HBO TV series Veep
• Blake Moran (played by Erich Bergen), personal aide to Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord in the CBS TV series Madam Secretary
• Marissa Gold (played by Sarah Steele), personal aide to Cook County State's Attorney Alicia Florrick in the CBS TV series The Good Wife
• Dembe Zuma (played by Hisham Tawfiq), personal assistant and bodyguard to FBI Task Force informant Raymond Reddington in the NBC TV series The Blacklist

References

1. Spencer Morgan, Hillary's Mystery Woman: Who Is Huma?, Observer (April 2, 2007).