A White House spokesperson denied rumors and reports suggesting that staffers have a secret plot to oust press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
A weekend report from the New York Post, citing anonymous sources in the White House, claimed that top Biden adviser Anita Dunn and White House chief of staff Jeff Zients are trying to push Ms. Jean-Pierre to voluntarily leave her post.
But deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates categorically denied the Post’s claims.
“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,” Mr. Bates told the newspaper.
The reason for the rumored plot, according to the report, is because her superiors are not happy with her reading answers out of a binder and allegedly not doing enough to support President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.
“Every press secretary uses the binder. Why is she being singled out?” Mr. Bates asked the paper.
The report added that the reason why the top officials want Ms. Jean-Pierre, who is black, to voluntarily leave is because of the “diversity issue.”
Mr. Zients also denied the reports, saying the press secretary is “an incredibly talented communicator” and that the White House is “lucky to have her” as the chief spokesperson for the administration.
“The President and everyone in the White House deeply values Karine—she is an incredibly talented communicator and trusted advisor who keeps a cool head in any crisis and always has your back,“ he said. ”We are lucky to have her on the core team advancing the President’s historic agenda every day.”
Both denied the reports, issuing respective statements to media outlets praising each others’ work.
“Admiral Kirby is an excellent colleague and I’m proud to work with him,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said in a statement at the time. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know him and have great respect for his service to our country. His military experience and the work he has done as part of the national security team have been immensely helpful to the White House, particularly with two ongoing conflicts around the world.”
At the same time, Mr. Kirby similarly lauded Ms. Jean-Pierre as a “ground-breaking, trail-blazing professional, and a role model.”
“I don’t know anyone more dedicated to the task of explaining the goals of this administration,” he said at the time. “It’s a privilege to be in her company, to watch her work and to learn from her. And I’m lucky to get to do that every day.”
Since the conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group started last October, Mr. Kirby has appeared alongside Ms. Jean-Pierre at most White House briefings.
Ms. Jean-Pierre’s predecessor, Jen Psaki, was the White House press secretary for about 16 months before she left the position to work for MSNBC, where she is now a host.
The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for comment.
