Former Obama advisor faults Trump administration's handling of new Bob Woodward book

Dan Pfeiffer, former senior advisor to Barack Obama and author of “Yes We (Still) Can: Politics in the Age of Obama, Twitter and Trump,” is optimistic about the possibilities for Democrats in the midterms as Obama rejoins the campaign trail next week.

Pfeiffer joined ABC News’ “Powerhouse Politics” this week to discuss the state of the Democratic base and what to expect from Obama as he joins the conversation again.

“I think you will hear the president lay out the stakes for the election, and continue what he said to Americans in his final speech right as he left the office in January 2017 about the role and responsibility that citizens have to take the state of our country in our own hands,” Pfeiffer said.

Obama is re-entering the political arena with an appearance at the University of Illinois, before campaigning this weekend in California and Ohio. The former president's presence on the campaign trail represents Democrats gearing up for the 2020 White House fight.

Obama will push themes such as health care for all and workers’ rights, sampling campaign rhetoric challenging Trump administration policies. But midterms this fall come first. And what if the House of Representatives turns blue from red this fall?

“Whether Democrats take the House or not is going to dramatically affect what Democratic primary voters are looking for,” Pfeiffer said.

The Pod Save America co-host was the Obama administration’s director of communications for seven years. He discussed “Fear,” the new book by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Bob Woodward about the inner-workings of the Trump presidency. The Obama White House had a method for dealing with that sort of press, he said.

“Woodward himself wrote two books about Obama,” Pfeiffer said. “We would try to have a process to facilitate cooperation with the book.”

The sound of Woodward’s voice in the recently-released recording of President Trump and Woodward discussing the upcoming book really shook Pfeiffer. He said it shows a disconnect between communications officials and President Trump.

“Every part of that conversation makes my stomach hurt,” he said. “Hearing Bob Woodward’s voice, as someone who was responsible for helping shepherd Woodward’s second book on Obama through the process, that makes my stomach hurt.”

While Woodward has well-honed skills for operating outside of any type of formal system for interviewing White House officials, Pfeiffer said, “cooperation in general… is better than just sort of turning a blind eye.”

Pfeiffer said he’s not picking 2020 favorites, but did encourage former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to throw his hat in the ring.

"I would love to see Deval Patrick run for president."