Long before the State Dinner party crashers, there was mounting tension between Ms. Rogers and her White House colleagues, and even a reported strain in her relationship with the First Lady. Instead of creating social situations for President and Mrs. Obama, Ms. Rogers was becoming one. She frequently appeared in glossy magazines, posed in the White House Rose Garden wearing a borrowed $3,500 silk pleated dress and $110,000 diamond earrings, and was even quoted as referring to “the Obama brand” which angered senior adviser David Axelrod. “The president is a person, not a product,” he was said to tell her. “We shouldn’t be referring to him as a brand.”
Ms. Rogers’s contemporary style, expensive clothes and consistent presence on the fashion scene were initially seen as symbolizing a new Camelot. But soon after this image struck many as out of touch in a time of economic hardship and extreme unemployment. The White House eventually clamped down on her public appearances, ordering her to stop attending splashy events and appearing in fancy clothes on trendy magazine covers. In one instance, when Mrs. Obama learned that Ms. Rogers was on a train to New York to attend an MTV celebrity dinner, the First Lady called her longtime friend and told her to cancel. From then on, things were never the same between Ms. Rogers and the Obama’s.
Not long after, Ms. Rogers lost interest in Washington and believed she was railroaded by the White House and her colleagues, including Mr. Axelrod, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and even her close friend, Valerie Jarrett. “They never lifted a finger to help her set the record straight,” said one associate of Mrs. Rogers who chose not to be identified. “She didn’t get any help from Gibbs, no help from Axelrod, no help from Valerie Jarrett. Nobody came to her defense.”
As for now, Ms. Rogers is unwilling to discuss her story publicly; her feelings are hurt and her wounds still fresh. But, the White House believes she somehow forgot she was working for the Obama’s and was not sent to Washington to overshadow them. When gate crashers made their way into a White House State Dinner that Ms. Rogers was attending as a guest instead of working in her capacity as Social Secretary, that was a national embarrassment and the last straw. Her fate was sealed and her favor with the Obama’s was done.
Sometimes I think Desiree Rogers thought she WAS Michelle Obama instead of remembering she was working for them. She did appear too out there at times which couldn't have helped her situation in the White House. Sorry to read her feelings are hurt now and her friendship with the Obamas took a hit. But I was so mad when those people busted into the White House dinner that she was supposed to be in control of, maybe it's for the best she moved on.