Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s new attempt to distance herself from the Democratic Party while diagnosing its problems is landing with a thud.
A vague synopsis of a new book from the former press secretary was met with jeers from her former colleagues, as it declared that Jean-Pierre had both left the Democratic Party and also written a book focused on the three weeks it took Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
“It’s called grift,” said one former senior White House official. “What in the fuck” said another.
“It’s clear she needs to be a ‘former Democrat’ for whatever Fox News show she’s currently negotiating,” said Caitlin Legacki, who worked in the communications office of the Commerce Department during Biden’s term.
Former Biden officials released a collective sigh and shared the press release link across their staffer chats and Signals — including with reporters — to chide Jean-Pierre for cashing in on her relationship to the White House. That’s especially true now, with former White House aides accused of engaging in a cover-up over Biden’s age just wanting the whole conversation to die.
“I think it’s finally hit that attaching herself as fiercely to the Biden brand as she has has earned her nothing, not even a post-WH job, so as has always been the case with her, this is sloppy optics management,” said a third former senior official, who told NOTUS that Jean-Pierre wanted but failed to become a co-host of The View post-White House.
Nearly everybody who spoke to NOTUS made the point that to the untrained eye, Jean-Pierre was a part of Biden’s inner circle that she is now set to castigate (she was nowhere near the upper echelon level of Biden allies Mike Donilon, Steven Ricchetti, Anita Dunn or Jen O’Malley Dillon). As sources repeatedly said Wednesday, Jean-Pierre was also one of the most visible aides who repeatedly told the American people that Biden’s age and physical health were not of anyone’s concern.
Jean-Pierre did not immediately respond to NOTUS before publication.
And to boot, just based on the press release, no one could clearly understand whether the book would be slamming Biden or slamming the Democratic Party for pushing him out.
Either way, Jean-Pierre’s former colleagues have responses ready.
For the first version: “She always talked about how close she was to Biden and now to turn around and do this. It’s so gross,” said one former White House official.
For the second: “How out of touch do you need to be that your takeaway from the past 12 months is, ‘I’m leaving the party because the party left Joe Biden,‘” said a senior Biden administration official.
Jean-Pierre’s time as Biden’s press secretary, which spanned the last two-and-a-half years of his presidency, was often strained. She relied on a large briefing book to answer reporter questions, often flipping through its pages before giving a response.
In an unusual setup, she also ceded the podium to John Kirby, the White House national security communications adviser, whenever the administration wanted to talk about international affairs during the briefings.
Some of her one-time colleagues seemed to be enjoying Wednesday’s response.
A lot of group chats were revived today 😅
— Symone D. Sanders Townsend (@SymoneDSanders) June 4, 2025
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Jasmine Wright and Alex Roarty are reporters at NOTUS.