Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gave Americans a glimpse behind the stage in a narration Vanity fair piece published on Tuesday.
Jean-Pierre, who chose to keep her personal life private while working in the Biden-Harris administration, revealed a private health struggle that put significant strain on her and her family.
Jean-Pierre recalled attending the Bidens’ first state dinner in December 2022, saying it was “the first time the administration has felt a dinner was safe since the pandemic began.” That evening, Jean-Pierre was accompanied by her mother, who told her it was “the happiest day of my life.”
The state dinner was the last time Jean-Pierre “recognized my mother as the woman I grew up with.” Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse and just a few months later her mother was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer. Jean-Pierre discovered her mother was ill during a visit to Poland with then-President Joe Biden.
“My mother has always been a private person. When she finally gave in to reality, she told me, “Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell the president I have cancer,’” the former press secretary wrote.
WHITE HOUSE REPORTERS reflect on beating reclusive Biden, what they hope for in beating TRUMP
Then-White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing in the White House Brady Briefing Room in Washington, DC, on October 30, 2023. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden was supposedly “one of the few people at the White House‘who knew what Jean-Pierre’s mother was going through. Jean-Pierre said Biden “showed up for me” during the tough time.
While navigating care for her mother with her siblings, Jean-Pierre drove to New York “every weekend I could to see my mother,” returning late at night to “get a few hours of sleep.” ‘before he went to the White House.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 9, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Despite serving in a very public role in the Biden-Harris administration with her “second full-time job” coordinating her mother’s care, Jean-Pierre explained that being a “private person” was only one of the reasons was why she didn’t. make her mother’s battle with cancer public. The former press secretary said she was also working under the “weight” of being a “first.”
“I am the first black press secretary. The first press secretary of color. The first openly gay press secretary. The first Haitian-American immigrant press secretary. The first press secretary to do all of the above. Being a first meant that my responsibilities went beyond those in the job description, the burden is heavier. I bear a certain responsibility to the communities I represent,” Jean-Pierre wrote.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE’S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF 2024
Jean-Pierre also claimed that she believed sharing her mother’s diagnosis would have been seen “as an excuse” because “society does not allow women of color to be vulnerable in the workplace.” benefit of the doubt.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took over the role in May 2022, when Jen Psaki left for MSNBC. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
During her time in the White House briefing room, Jean-Pierre was criticized for a series of embarrassing and controversial moments.
In one of her most infamous moments, Jean-Pierre accused the media and others of creating “cheap fakes” that made Biden “appear particularly vulnerable or mentally confused.” As the American people questioned whether the commander in chief was capable of carrying out the duties of his office, Jean-Pierre grilled them by attributing it to “misinformation” and “disinformation.”
After Biden spoke out against Georgia’s voting laws, calling them “Jim Crow 2.0,” Jean-Pierre raised eyebrows with her claim that “high turnout and voter suppression can happen at the same time.”
Jean-Pierre was also tasked with walking back denials about the possibility of the president pardoning his son, Hunter Biden. When the president pardoned his son despite repeatedly vowing not to do so, Jean-Pierre explained the pivot by saying that “circumstances have changed.” She also blamed then-President-elect Trump, saying the president was trying to protect his son from Republican “retaliation.”
In May 2022, Jean-Pierre took over from her predecessor Jen Psaki, who was Biden’s press secretary for almost a year and a half. When handing over the reins to Jean-Pierre, Psaki called her successor a “remarkable individual” before listing her qualifications for the position.
