US government spokeswoman Jean-Pierre: Who’s the new girl on the microphone?

She is the US government’s new public voice: Karine Jean-Pierre. President Biden is following his line of bringing more diversity to the White House.

Change of staff in the White House press room and Joe Biden’s outgoing government spokeswoman Jen Psaki briefly becomes emotional when she introduces her successor to the media representatives: “I’m about to cry.”

Karine Jean-Pierre will be the mouthpiece and face of the Biden government. The 44-year-old former deputy government spokeswoman is “my friend, my colleague and my partner when it comes to truth,” Psaki praises her.

“She will give a voice to so many”

Jean-Pierre is the first black woman and the first openly gay to hold the position. And that’s no coincidence: President Biden likes to emphasize how important it is to him to have formed the most diverse US government of all time. It’s important that minorities find themselves in government, says Psaki:

Daughter of Haitian immigrants

The short woman with the short dreadlocks was born on the Caribbean island of Martinique and grew up as the daughter of Haitian immigrants in Queens, New York. Her mother works in home care, her father as a taxi driver.

Jean-Pierre studied at the renowned Columbia University, worked for various progressive lobby groups that advocate, among other things, liberal abortion laws and social justice. And she was an advisor on the campaign team for Barack Obama and later Biden. In a written statement, he said he and his wife Jill have known Karine for a long time – she is a strong voice for him and his government.

Transparency comes first

Jean-Pierre made her debut on the legendary podium in the “Briefing Room” of the White House a year ago, at that time as Vice President. Still a bit shaky but very aware of the historical importance. She promises: “But again, this isn’t about me or any of us. It’s just that every time I stand here – and you’ve heard Jen say that – we’re going to be truthful and transparent, like the President wants us to communicate with the Americans.”

In fact, after the Trump years, the press conferences in the West Wing are now much more civil and polite. The briefings happen every day, not just every few months, like in the days of ex-government spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

The Republican is now a paid commentator on right-wing FoxNews. Sanders was asked there whether she saw no conflict of interest because Jean-Pierre lived with a CNN journalist. Jean-Pierre and her partner have an adopted daughter. Relationships between government officials and members of the press are commonplace in Washington.

And so Sanders didn’t even respond to this invitation to bash, but instead explained, still quite the Trump spokeswoman, that she didn’t envy her new successor – because she only had bad news to announce. But she hopes that Jean-Pierre will at least experience a more pleasant press pack than she did in her time.

Psaki – farewell for family reasons

Jean-Pierre’s appointment was well received in most US media. As planned for a long time, her predecessor Psaki is leaving after a good year in office for family reasons. She was well respected and was soon engaged in polite but tense verbal duels with Fox reporter Peter Doocy on a daily basis. He thanked Psaki and said he would miss her. “Really?” Psakis mockingly counter-questioned. “Yeah, really,” said Doocy, adding, “I can’t wait to see Karine on the podium.” It sounded a bit like a threat.