Karine Jean-Pierre, the former White House Press Secretary, is under fire after an awkward Q&A session with the New Yorker that has sparked widespread criticism.
The interview, conducted by Isaac Chotiner and released on Monday, coincides with Jean-Pierre’s efforts to promote her new book. However, it has drawn scorn from commentators across the political divide.
Throughout the conversation, Chotiner repeatedly sought clarification as Jean-Pierre delivered meandering responses that failed to elucidate her belief that Democrats had ‘betrayed’ President Joe Biden.
Jean-Pierre brought up her identity as a black woman ten times and mentioned her LGBT status on two occasions during the interview.
She argued that both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have faced discrimination from voters and within their political circles. When questioned about Harris’s presidential prospects, she remarked, “I wish you could walk in my body and live my life.”
Chotiner responded, acknowledging her perspective but pointing out, “I’m not trying to discount what you’re saying about Harris, but Biden is not an LGBTQ black woman, and you have the same feelings about how he was treated.”
‘This is what you keep going back to in the book. Sometimes I worry about losing sight of the fact that we’re dealing with a Presidential election here, and the feelings of Joe Biden are less important than the fate of the country.’
Elsewhere in the interview, Jean-Pierre panned her former party for what she described as poor treatment of ‘decent’ and ‘vulnerable people.’
Former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is facing widespread ridicule over a cringeworthy Q&A with the New Yorker
Jean-Pierre gave several rambling, word-salad responses that failed to explain why she believed Democrats ‘betrayed’ Joe Biden
‘And then you also have to think about how I’m thinking about this as a Black woman who is part of the LGBTQ community, and living in this time where I also don’t think Democrats right now, Democrats’ leadership, is protecting vulnerable people in the way that it should,’ she said.
Chotiner responded that he was ‘a little unclear about what this has to do with Democratic leaders and many Democrats in the country thinking that Joe Biden was going to lose to Donald Trump – which was what the polls all showed – and therefore thinking that he should be replaced.’
At another point in the exchange, Jean-Pierre wildly claimed that the subtitle of her book, ‘A Look Inside a Broken White House,’ had actually been a reference to the Trump administration rather than Biden’s.
When asked to confirm that she had ‘no concern’ that Biden could serve a second term, Jean-Pierre maintained that she never witnessed anything from him that would make her think otherwise.
‘But you watched TV like the rest of us, right?’ Chotiner asked.
Jean-Pierre acknowledged the president ‘was aging,’ but said he was still ‘engaged, on top of policy, [and] challenging his staff.’
When asked whether ‘it was not wise’ to believed Biden could serve through 2029, she said: ‘It’s not my place to say.’
‘What do you mean it’s not your place to say?’ Chotiner pressed.
‘No, no, no. Wait, I’m answering the question. I did not see anything that would cause me concern. That is my answer,’ Jean-Pierre replied.
At one point, Jean-Pierre insisted the subhead for her book, A Look Inside a Broken White House, had actually been a reference to the Trump administration rather than Biden’s
Other answers came off as equally confusing.
‘Some have even said [Biden] did more in one term than most Presidents do in two,’ Jean-Pierre said at one point.
The ‘incoherent’ interview spawned commentary from both sides of the aisle almost immediately after it was published.
‘Turns out you can do a career-ending interview even after your career is over,’ Semafor Politics Reporter David Weigel wrote on X.
‘When even the New Yorker isn’t buying your bulls**t, where else is a Democrat to go?’ added former congressional investigator Paul D. Thacker.
‘In case it wasn’t obvious: Karine Jean Pierre should be completely unemployable after that New Yorker interview,’ another critic chimed in.
Other notable figures to voice confusion included former CNN reporter Chris Cillizza, Boston Review columnist David Astin Walsh, Washington Post columnist David French, and conservatives like former Republican congressman Peter Meijer and commentator Saagar Enjeti.
‘I honestly don’t know what she was trying to accomplish here,’ French said.
The interview was roundly mocked by critics from all political persuasions
Jean-Pierre is in the midst of a media tour meant to promote her new book, which seeks to explain why she left the Democratic Party
Jean-Pierre is in the midst of a media tour meant to promote her new book, which seeks to explain why she left the Democratic Party
She maintains it was not her old boss’s cognitive ability that caused his colleagues to reconsider his chances in the race, but division within the Democratic party.
