Victor "Vic" Gold (September 25, 1928 – June 5, 2017) was an American journalist, author, and Republican political consultant. Gold began his career as a lawyer and advisor to the Democratic Party in Alabama before switching to the Republican Party. He worked as deputy press secretary for Senator Barry Goldwater during the 1964 presidential election and press secretary for Vice President Spiro T. Agnew from 1970 to 1973. Gold left politics for a time to work as a writer and political commentator, returning in 1979 as a speechwriter to the presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush and was an advisor to Bush's 1988 and 1992 campaigns. Later in life, Gold split with the Republicans over issues including the 2003 invasion of Iraq and formally left the party in 2016. He was the author of several published works of non-fiction. He co-wrote George H. W. Bush's 1987 autobiography and co-wrote a novel in 1988 with Lynne Cheney. Early life and career Victor Gold was born in East St. Louis, Illinois to Jewish immigrants, and reared in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he attended public schools and graduated in 1945 from the former Alcee Fortier High School in Uptown New Orleans, since superseded by Lusher Charter School. At Fortier, Gold was a classmate of David C. Treen, the Louisiana Republican lawyer who became the first member of his party in a century to gain election to the United States House of Representatives, in his case Louisiana's 3rd congressional district in 1972, and as governor of Louisiana in 1979. Gold encouraged Republicans in both Alabama and Louisiana as they sought with slow success to overcome the long-term dominance of the Democrats in their states. He graduated from Tulane University and then worked as a reporter-correspondent for The Birmingham News in Birmingham, Alabama. He then received a law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law in Tuscaloosa. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War. Political activities In 1958, Gold joined the Washington, D.C. public relations firm of Selvage & Lee. His interest in Republican politics began after the Bay of Pigs invasion, which made him disillusioned with the presidency of Democrat John F. Kennedy, for whom he had voted in 1960. He was attracted to Senator Goldwater's strong stance against communism and Goldwater's libertarianism and contrarian tendencies. In 1964 he became deputy press secretary for Goldwater's unsuccessful presidential