(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Karine Jean-Pierre may tout herself as a “historic” figure, celebrating her selection as the first black and lesbian White House press secretary. However, such a feat has not prevented her superiors from quietly seeking her ouster.
According to a lengthy and damning report by the New York Post, sources alleged the existence of plans to remove Jean-Pierre from the press briefing room podium.
“There was an effort to have some outside folks who Karine knows and trusts talk to her about why leaving last fall would have made a lot of sense for her and her career,” one source told the Post.
This effort was aimed “to encourage her to move along,” the source said. Her persistent reliance on a bookbinder for prepared answers is a significant source of dissatisfaction with Jean-Pierre.
“Karine doesn’t have an understanding of the issues and she reads the book [binder] word-for-word,” a second source said, adding that the optics are made worse because Jean-Pierre “thinks she’s doing an amazing job.”
At the center of the ousting effort was White House senior adviser Anita Dunn, the sources alleged. According to the Post, Dunn approached White House colleagues to summon high-profile Democrats to inform Jean-Pierre that it was time to move on.
“There were a number of people she asked to engage Karine,” one source affirmed. Another source said that Dunn and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, who agreed to the plan, sought to give Jean-Pierre a “graceful exit.”
Jean-Pierre was then offered the position of president at EMILY List, a pro-abortion organization dedicated to supporting women candidates in elections.
This vacancy arose after California Gov. Gavin Newsom selected former EMILY List President Laphonza Butler to temporarily fill the Senate seat left vacant by the passing of Dianne Feinstein.
Jean-Pierre swiftly rejected the offer, emphatically telling reporters that she contentiously plans to remain as press secretary until the 2024 presidential election.
Like Butler, Jean-Pierre has proudly highlighted her status as the first black, lesbian woman to hold the press secretary role. However, her embrace of identity politics has led to concerns within the White House as they fear that removing her against her will could not be well-received.
“There were a number of people she asked to engage Karine,” the source said.
Jean-Pierre has held the role since May 2022 and has frequently clashed with conservative journalists, propagated demonstrably false information and often appears unprepared to address questions.
ICYMI: Thursday’s White House press briefing came to an abrupt end when Today News Africa’s Simon Ateba repeatedly tried to get a question into John Kirby (while Alarabiya’s Nadia Bilbassy-Charters was speaking), so KJP decided to cut the whole thing off. pic.twitter.com/l78nJNAOd5
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 30, 2023
Karine Jean-Pierre is unable to articulate A SINGLE POLICY the Biden administration would support to secure the southern border pic.twitter.com/Is8NY5iTGW
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 21, 2023
She has reportedly clashed with White House advisor John Kirby, who was brought in to assist Jean-Pierre with questions pertaining to global conflicts. According to reports, Jean-Pierre does not allow Kirby to freely take questions from reporters when co-hosting press briefings.
