A Succession Star Was Spotted Driving a Press Van in Biden Motorcade: 'Super Nice Guy' (original) (raw)

Journalists covering President Joe Biden's trip to California were in for a surprise on Tuesday when they noticed actor Alan Ruck behind the wheel of the motorcade's press van.

The 65-year-old Succession star (perhaps most famous for his role in Ferris Bueller's Day Off) was pictured at the wheel of a van that drove the press as part of the president's motorcade during ahead of Tuesday's recall election.

Fox News White House Producer Pat Ward detailed her run-in with Ruck on Twitter: "Here's one for you. The driver of our press van is actor Alan Ruck. Cameron from Ferris Bueller/Connor Roy from Succession. I said, 'you sound just like the actor Alan Ruck' Looks like there's a reason. Super nice guy, got a kick out of running all the red lights."

Ward added: "He said someone asked him if he wanted to drive in a Presidential motorcade and he figured why not."

According to the White House press pool, Ruck — who plays eldest son Connor Roy in Succession — served as a volunteer driver in the motorcade, which left a Westin hotel for Long Beach airport at around 9:50 a.m. Tuesday

Reuters reporter Steve Holland shared a photo of Ruck behind the wheel on Twitter, adding that he "handled his driving of press van 1 in the Biden motorcade very capably."

According to an official who spoke to PEOPLE, the press lead on the White House's volunteer advance staff is friends with Ruck, which helps explain how he landed the gig of ferrying reporters on Tuesday.

Biden's California trip was part of campaign visit for Gov. Gavin Newsom ahead of the recall election, which he easily won.

Speaking at a Monday night rally, Biden said, "The eyes of the nation are on California because the decision you're about to make isn't just going to have a huge impact on California, it's going to reverberate around the nation."

President Joe Biden. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty

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Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California senator, also campaigned for the Democrat rahead of the election.

"You have to understand that this recall campaign is about California, and it's about a whole lot more," Harris said last week, CNN reports, referencing a recent abortion law passed in Texas and a strict voter bill in Georgia: "What's happening in Texas, what's happening in Georgia, what's happening around our country with these policies that are attacking women's rights, reproductive rights and voting rights, workers' rights. They think if they can win in California, they can do this anywhere."

Newsom, a Democrat, triumphed in the recall vote, winning two-to-one in the results reported to far.

"Tonight I'm humble, grateful, but resolved in the spirit of my political hero Robert Kennedy to make more gentle the light of this world," he said.