Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says she is baffled by how President Donald Trump managed to win over a broad coalition of voters — including traditionally Democratic constituencies — according to an excerpt from her new book.
Jean-Pierre, who announced her departure from the Democratic Party in June, released her memoir, “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines,” on Oct. 21. In it, she outlines her reasons for leaving the party, including her frustrations with Democrats’ attempts to moderate positions on issues such as LGBTQ rights.
Trump won a sizable share of minority voters who have historically been loyal to Democrats, handily defeating former Vice President Kamala Harris. Yet Jean-Pierre, who served as press secretary for over half of the Biden administration, says she still can’t explain why Democrats lost while doubling down on the very positions that alienated key constituencies.
“How did the party of working-class people — and the most pro-union president in generations — lose working-class voters? How did the party that embraced Black Lives Matter and pushed for the expansion of voting rights wind up losing so many minority voters on Election Day? How did the party that had elected ‘Scranton Joe’ allow itself to become branded as a group of liberal elites out of touch with a large swath of the country?” Jean-Pierre wrote.
“I can’t say I have all the answers. I wish I did,” she added.
Jean-Pierre took aim at ex-Obama White House chief of staff and ex-Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel — widely rumored to be a 2028 presidential contender — over his recent remarks describing the Democratic Party as “weak and woke.”
“‘Woke,’ shorthand for being sensitive to the concerns of Black people, trans Americans, and other marginalized communities, has been relentlessly attacked by the GOP,” wrote Jean-Pierre, who is openly lesbian. “And when Dems use Republican talking points, criticizing ‘woke’ ideas, they are taking the GOP’s bait.”
Trump expanded his multiethnic coalition by winning 40% of Asian voters, 48% of Hispanics and 15% of Black voters, according to a June Pew Research analysis. Exit polls also show that a majority of Americans earning less than $50,000 a year voted for Trump, while those making over $100,000 broke for Harris.
Despite these results, Jean-Pierre doubled down on the idea that Republicans are a homogeneous party.
“The GOP is a homogeneous party trying to claw back an era when people of color and women were treated as second-class citizens, and LGBTQ people couldn’t live their truth. In its current incarnation it has a singular message of resentment and hate,” Jean-Pierre wrote.
Democrats remain split over how to recover from their devastating 2024 loss. Some want to steer the party toward the center, while others — including Jean-Pierre — insist the party should continue catering to its far-left base.
“Dems, meanwhile, are a big tent party representative of the nation’s diversity. That’s something they should embrace as a strength, that they should lean into. They shouldn’t be adopting the GOP’s attack lines,” Jean-Pierre wrote.
“It’s a betrayal of those who have led the Dems to victory in countless elections. After years of feeling unheard, underrepresented, and used, loyalty frays. You can only ask voters to compromise so many times before they start asking, Is this the party for me,” she added.
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