The White House is denying a report of a secret plot to push press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre out of her job.
The New York Post reported last week that certain White House staffers disappointed with Jean-Pierre’s performance were plotting ways to push her out of the job.
However, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told the Post: “Not only are these claims wildly false, but the reality is the polar opposite. Karine was never approached by anyone with such a message. She spends four hours preparing every day. And neither Jeff nor Anita did any such thing; both have been unflinchingly supportive of her.”
“Every press secretary uses the binder. Why is she being singled out?” he asked.
According to the Post’s report from last week, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients and the “de facto White House communications chief” Anita Dunn were trying to “find Karine a graceful exit” in the fall.
A source told the paper, “There was an effort to have some outside folks who Karine knows and trusts talk to her about why leaving last fall would have made a lot of sense for her and her career.”
They noted Jean-Pierre “had been in the job for a year and a half at that point, which is a pretty standard tenure for a press secretary in what is admittedly a very demanding job [and] Jeff and Anita [tried] to have folks that she would listen to and trust talk to her about why it might be wise to do that.”
However, there were concerns about the optics of removing Jean-Pierre — who has labeled herself a “historic figure” as the first Black and first gay person to hold the job — from the position.
“There’s a huge diversity issue and they’re afraid of what folks are going to say,” a source told the outlet.
The alleged push came as White House staffer are reportedly disappointed with Jean-Pierre’s handling of the job and grasp of the issues.
““Karine doesn’t have an understanding of the issues and she reads the book [binder] word-for-word,” a source said of the press secretary. “She thinks she’s doing an amazing job.”
They went on:
“She doesn’t have a grasp of the issues and doesn’t spend the time to learn… These issues are not second nature to people. Israel and Gaza is a perfect example. It’s very nuanced. Jen [Psaki] would have calls with people to feel well-versed enough to go to the briefing.”
Another source told the Post, “There’s an enormous amount of work that goes into getting ready… and consistently she does not put in that level of work.”
