The two press spokeswomen are also private friends.
(Photo: IMAGO/UPI Photo)
new York “This is a historic moment that I didn’t miss either,” Karine Jean-Pierre said during her brief appearance in the White House press room. “I understand how important this is to so many people out there. So many different groups to stand on the shoulders of.”
Jean-Pierre was announced as Jen Psaki’s successor on Thursday evening. In doing so, she broke two historic records: As the new press secretary of the White House, it was not only the first time that a black woman had held this post, but also for the first time that an openly homosexual person had occupied it. The 44-year-old will take over the office of Psaki in mid-May, whose deputy she was previously.
That Jean-Pierre is a black woman representing LGBTQ+ people is “fantastic,” Psaki said, “because representation matters.” Her example also shows that hard work can make it to the top.
“She comes to this job with decades of experience,” said Psaki, whose departure has been speculated for some time. According to media reports, Psaki will switch to the MSNBC television channel. She herself has not commented on this.
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“Karine Jean-Pierre not only brings the experience, talent and integrity required for this daunting task,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement, “she will lead the way in communicating our administration’s work be.”
Entered Columbia University as the daughter of an immigrant family
Jean-Pierre doesn’t just stand for black and gay Americans. She also stands for the success of ordinary immigrants who were able to realize their American dream in the USA. Born to Haitian immigrants in Martinique, Caribbean, she grew up in Queens, New York. Her mother worked there as a domestic help and her father worked as a taxi driver, so she often had to look after her younger siblings.
On her own she made it to the renowned Columbia University, where she graduated with a Masters in Public Administration. After university, she first worked in local politics in New York and later for the election campaigns of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, among others.
Jean-Pierre once praised her work with US President Obama as one of many LGBT White House staffers there. But “Obama didn’t hire LGBT staff, he hired experienced individuals who happened to be LGBT,” she said.
Since 2014 she has also been a guest lecturer at Columbia University. “The students often asked me how I got to where I am,” she said when she was introduced as Psaki’s successor. Her answer is: “Follow your passion. Follow what you believe in. Keep that focus. If you work hard towards it, it will work out.” It will not always be easy. “But the reward for that will be amazing,” she said.
Her first book was published in 2019
Jean-Pierre now lives in Washington with her partner, CNN journalist Suzanne Malveaux, and their daughter. In 2019 she published her first book entitled Moving Forward. Critics have called it a mix of memoir and call to battle. She calls on people to get involved in their ideals and in politics.
Sometimes her job also requires physical effort: When an activist for animal rights wanted to pounce on the future vice-president at an event with Kamala Harris during the recent election campaign, Jean-Pierre quickly intervened and kept the two apart until the security forces could intervene.
From mid-May it will be her job to explain Biden’s politics in the middle of the important mid-term election campaign. In view of the latest surveys, this should not be an easy game. Unless sentiment changes drastically, Democrats are likely to lose their razor-thin Senate majority. This would make it even more difficult to enforce their program. The critical questions from journalists would increase.
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