Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has announced her departure from the Democratic Party, a revelation made in her forthcoming book, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines. The announcement, first reported by the Associated Press, has triggered strong reactions across the political spectrum and on social media.
Jean-Pierre, 50, served as Joe Biden’s chief spokesperson for two years, making history as the first Black woman and openly gay person to hold the role. In her memoir, she calls on Americans to move beyond the two-party system, describing the current political landscape as broken and in need of bold rethinking.
“Until January 20, I was responsible for speaking on behalf of the President of the United States,” Jean-Pierre writes. “At noon on that day, I became a private citizen who, like all Americans and many of our allies around the world, had to contend with what was to come next for our country.”
She continues, “I determined that the danger we face as a country requires freeing ourselves of boxes. We need to be willing to exercise the ability to think creatively and plan strategically.”
Her publisher, Legacy Lit, promises the memoir will delve into the intense final weeks before Biden abandoned his reelection campaign, including what it calls “the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision.” The book also aims to examine the role of disinformation in recent elections, offering what the publisher describes as “clear arguments and provocative evidence” from someone on the inside.
Jean-Pierre faced public scrutiny during her tenure, particularly for sidestepping questions about President Biden’s health. The book, however, shifts the spotlight from her role as press secretary to her larger concerns about American democracy and partisan politics.
Reactions to her announcement were swift and pointed. “It’s sad that Biden stuck with Karine Jean-Pierre for all those years despite the fact she was not that great at her job, only for her to turn around and write a book about why she left the Democratic Party and is now an independent,” wrote journalist Aaron Rupar on social media.
Others, like software engineer Lakshya Jain, were more dismissive: “Interesting that Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre seems to have left the Democratic Party. Oh well. Anyways.” Some critics accused her of chasing book sales. “Karine Jean-Pierre really saw Jake Tapper sell 50k books and thought ‘hey I could sell a twelfth of that,’” joked one user on Bluesky. While the public response has been mixed, Jean-Pierre’s memoir promises to add a new and controversial voice to the debate on America’s political future.