Biden-era White House reporters express disbelief on Karine Jean-Pierre's sudden party switch
The longtime spokesperson for former President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that she switched her affiliation to independent. Jean-Pierre also revealed an upcoming book, "Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines," that quickly raised eyebrows among the journalists who dealt with her in the briefing room.
One White House reporter sarcastically called the project "amazing," and suggested Jean-Pierre's book won't carry much weight.
"Did she find the manuscript somewhere in that fat binder she toted around? If I were a historian writing about the Biden White House, I wouldn't ignore what Karine has to say, but it's not an account in which much weight will be invested — just like her briefings," the White House reporter told Fox News Digital.
A second White House reporter said they wouldn't have even realized Jean-Pierre was in the news if Fox News Digital didn't ask about it.
"She left the Democratic Party? I honestly didn't see that story and probably wouldn't have even noticed. I turned off my KJP Google Alert on Inauguration Day," the reporter reacted, before joking, "Has anyone circled back with Jen Psaki?"
Psaki, who preceded Jean-Pierre as Biden's press secretary, famously responded to tough questions by declaring she would "circle back" with an answer, but those answers rarely came.
A third White House reporter was "shocked" that Jean-Pierre had left the Democratic Party.
"I have to pick my jaw up from the floor. It is unbelievable that she, of all people, would choose this path," the reporter told Fox News Digital.
"Just take a look at her entire career and identity," they said. "You can't change who you are just because you check a different box on a registration form. It's also disappointing to see that she would turn her back on her party just because it's hit a really rough patch... it speaks to character."
The third White House reporter said it was widely assumed that Jean-Pierre would follow in Psaki's footsteps for the second time and take a gig at MSNBC or another news organization.
"But these two press secretaries could not be more different, and in a way, when you are in that role you are auditioning for your next job, whatever that is gonna be. I think it was painfully apparent that she would not handle a job like that, so no, I did not think she was going to get her own show or something like that," the reporter told Fox News Digital.
"I didn't really know what she was going to do because she did such a bad job as press secretary and that's both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes," the reporter continued. "Many reporters felt like KJP didn't meet the mark."
The third anonymous reporter said Jean-Pierre's shortcomings became even more apparent when Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt took control of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.
"If you talk to people who covered both administrations back-to-back, Karoline Leavitt is such whiplash because she understands how to build a relationship with reporters across the spectrum, and she is a star on camera," the third White House reporter said.
CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson recently went on a wide-ranging media tour to promote their book, "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," which details Biden's mental acuity concerns while in office and accuses the Biden White House of lying to reporters and voters.
Jean-Pierre routinely dismissed questions about Biden's fitness as White House press secretary as early as 2022.
The third White House reporter doesn't anticipate a similar press tour for Jean-Pierre, who will presumably look to avoid questions about whether she played a key role in the "cover-up."
"I think she'll probably go to friendly media and that will be a big difference because, and I don't think the buzz will be there," they said. "There is a historical record literally on camera of her, you know, saying all the things she said that turned out to be not true."
On Wednesday, the announcement from publisher Legacy Lit, a division of the Hachette Book Group, insisted Jean-Pierre's book will take readers "through the three weeks that led to Biden's abandoning his bid for a second term and the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision."
"She presents clear arguments and provocative evidence as an insider about the importance of dismantling the torrent of disinformation and misinformation that has been rampant in recent elections and provides passionate insight for moving forward," the announcement said.
Jean-Pierre also shared the news in a video posted to Instagram, where she explained that the new book was her answer to a way forward for Americans who feel distraught about the current Trump administration.
A fourth anonymous reporter who covered the Biden White House said Jean-Pierre appears "desperate" to salvage her career.
"I wish Karine had broken from the party line during the last administration. Maybe then her press briefings would have actually been useful every once in a while," the fourth reporter told Fox News Digital.
Reagan Reese, White House correspondent for the Daily Caller, mocked the notion that the longtime Democratic Party operative is truly an independent.
"Now that she's independent, I can't wait to hear what Republicans KJP will be voting for in upcoming elections," Reese told Fox News Digital.
Legacy Lit and Jean-Pierre did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
"Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines" hits retailers in October.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Warren Buffett's stock still struggling since May peak
Warren Buffett's stock still struggling since May peak originally appeared on TheStreet. There's a reason why shares of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway () and () have fallen more than 12% since early May. Some of its businesses aren't performing as well as in prior years. 💵💰Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter 💰 The company saw operating profit drop to $11.16 billion, a 3.8% decline from a year earlier, in part because of declines in underwriting earnings in its insurance operations, according to its second-quarter earnings report released Saturday. Plus, it wrote down the value of its investment in Kraft Heinz () , the food giant Berkshire helped put together. Kraft Heinz shares have lost two third of their value since 2017. The pre-tax write-down came to about $5 billion. It still owns 27.4% of the company. Until this spring, Berkshire controlled two of the 12 seats on the Kraft Heinz board. It has given up both seats. The write-down was a rare disappointment for Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, although analysts believe it was long shares struggle since spring Berkshire's Class A shares closed Friday at $711,480, down $8,370 on the day. The Class B shares ended at $472.84, up 96 cents. Berkshire shares hit intraday peaks of $812,855 and $542.07, respectively, on May 2, the day before the company's annual meeting when Buffett said he would retire as CEO on Dec. 31. The closes for the stock classes translated into year-to-date-gains of 18.5%. The shares then fell through May, June and July. One reason for the declines was the uncertainty created by the announcement. Buffett was a known quantity for Wall Street. Greg Abel, who will succeed the Oracle of Omaha as CEO, is less known. Perhaps as important, the big technology rebound that started in April probably drew money away from less glamorous opportunities. Like Palantir () , Facebook parent Meta Platforms () , Microsoft () and, of course, Nvidia () . Here is how the Berkshire B shares have behaved compared with the S&P 500 over the six months. Despite the shares' fallback since May, Berkshire's A shares are up 4.5% in 2025, with the B shares up 4.3%. The S&P 500 is up 6.1% on the year and up 29% from its April low. (We should note Berkshire rose on Friday as some investors saw it as a safe haven.) And the company has real strength. Berkshire ended the second quarter with $344.1 billion in cash and equivalents, about 37% of total assets. The cash position includes nearly $250 billion in short-term Treasury who turns 95 on Aug. 30, took control of Berkshire in 1965. It was then a struggling textile company in 1965. He has been CEO since 1970. Abel, who is Berkshire's vice chairman of non-insurance operations, is also CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which operates four electric utilities and related subsidiaries. More Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway predicts major housing market shift soon Warren Buffett has harsh words for stock market investors Warren Buffett makes worrisome car insurance prediction Former Warren Buffett exec makes bold real estate bet A low-visibility corporate giant Berkshire is a huge conglomerate with about 392,000 employees. Much of its profits come from its insurance businesses. It owns Geico, Allegany and no fewer than 16 other insurance companies. It also owns the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, a host of electric utilities, Fruit of the Loom, Dairy Queen, Duracell, boot-maker Justin Brands and the Pilot chain of truck stops. Most of its companies run semi-autonomously and have been reliably successful and made Buffett and Berkshire shareholders wealthy. The railroad business is based in the western United States and will face new competitive pressures when — and if — rival Union Pacific Corp. () merges with Norfolk Southern Corp. () . The two sides agreed this past week to merge in a deal valued at about $85 billion. Assuming it closes, the result would be the first coast-to-coast railroad operator in the United States. Many analysts believe BNSF will need to find a merger partner of its own to compete. There, however, just five big railroads. Berkshire still is still a large investor in a host of companies with a fair value of $268 billion. The largest holdings are: American Express () . Apple () . Bank of America () . Coca-Cola () . Chevron Corp. () .Warren Buffett's stock still struggling since May peak first appeared on TheStreet on Aug 3, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tim McGraw thrills crowd before MLB Speedway Classic
MLB tried something new, sort of new. The Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds were supposed to play a baseball game on a field inside Bristol Motor Speedway. Problem is that the weather didn't cooperate and it rained and rained until after two hours play was suspended with the Reds leading 1-0 in the bottom of the first. The game will be picked up on Sunday afternoon. The idea riffs off something college football has done but weather isn't usually a problem for that sport. What did take place was a pregame concert featuring Tim McGraw. That went off without a hitch. No word on whether the Speedway Classic will be renamed Field of Streams. Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw Tim McGraw This article originally appeared on The List Wire: MLB Speedway Classic pregame concert with Tim McGraw in images
CNET
6 minutes ago
- CNET
Today's NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Aug. 3
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today's Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles. Today's Mini Crossword was a bit tricky. I always hate it when there are two connected clues, and you can't really solve one without the other. Need the answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips. The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times' games collection. If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET's NYT puzzle hints page. Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword Let's get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers. The completed NYT Mini Crossword puzzle for Aug. 3, 2025. NYT/Screenshot by CNET Mini across clues and answers 1A clue: With 5-Down, road trip with frequent stops for reds Answer: WINE 5A clue: Printer supply Answer: TONER 6A clue: Use DoorDash or Grubhub Answer: ORDER 7A clue: Like thrift shop items Answer: USED 8A clue: Distortus ___, mutant dinosaur in "Jurassic World Rebirth" Answer: REX Mini down clues and answers 1D clue: Not as good Answer: WORSE 2D clue: End-of-book reference Answer: INDEX 3D clue: Have to have Answer: NEED 4D clue: Go wrong Answer: ERR 5D clue: See 1-Across Answer: TOUR
