Tensions between the White House’s dueling spokespeople have muddied the messaging in a tough election year in which the Biden administration has struggled to answer tough questions such as foreign policy and the president’s memory.
In an unusual dynamic, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has increasingly elbowed out press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the daily briefings. Ms. Jean-Pierre, who technically outranks Mr. Kirby, has been ceding more time to him both in the briefing room and on the Sunday morning talk shows.
Since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, Mr. Kirby has become the face of the Biden administration appearing in the briefing room daily to answer reporters’ questions about the Middle East and other national security matters.
Mr. Kirby has appeared at most press briefings with Ms. Jean-Pierre since the war’s outbreak. Mr. Kirby, who used to travel with Mr. Biden only on international trips, recently began traveling on domestic flights so he can brief reporters when they are not in Washington.
The two spokespeople are reportedly at odds about their roles with Ms. Jean-Pierre fuming that she’s outshone by Mr. Kirby, a Biden favorite. Mr. Kirby is said to be frustrated that she chooses which reporters can ask him questions in the briefing room.
Questions about which one is actually the press secretary and uneasiness between the two come at a critical time for the administration. Mr. Biden is in the midst of a bitter election for a second term, dogged by questions about his age and competence. He’s struggled to find his footing on Israel, and polls show Mr. Biden’s approval ratings and support among his base shrinking and a hostile Congress.
As the first Black and first openly gay White House press secretary, Ms. Jean-Pierre was seen as breaking down several barriers. And the administration touted her as an example of its commitment to equity and diversity. While there has been persistent criticism of her performance, replacing her with a White man like Mr. Kirby would have proven tricky during an election year.
“She was not just put there for public relations acumen, but also because she fits the image they want to project and there is discontent inside the White House that she is not doing the job the way they want her to be doing it,” said Richard Benedetto, a journalism professor at American University. “It just doesn’t look good firing a woman, a minority woman, especially for their constituency.”
The briefing room drama threatens to undermine the administration’s efforts to connect with voters as well as provide reporters with much-needed answers.
“When you’ve got two people speaking the message it’s pretty hard to get it out there,” said Robert Rowland, who teaches presidential rhetoric at the University of Kansas.
Tensions aren’t likely to subside after the promotion of Mr. Kirby to an expanded role that makes him an assistant to the president, the highest title available in the West Wing. The move puts him in charge of coordinating communications across several national security agencies and elevates him from deputy assistant. He will direct a new team, separate from the National Security Council’s press office.
Mr. Benedetto said Mr. Kirby’s promotion underscores the administration’s need to improve its messaging ahead of the election. He described the move as a way to “stop the bleeding.”
“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of confidence in reporters in the current press secretary. Kirby has been put in the briefing room to pick up that slack at a time when the president is under fire for not only his policies but his personal problems,” he said.
“They want someone they trust more, and this indicates that they trust John Kirby more than the current press secretary. It makes for an uncomfortable position in the White House, not knowing who is really in charge, but there is a clear concern they are not getting the president’s message out,” he said.
Ms. Jean-Pierre has struggled to find her stride more than a year into her role as a spokesperson for Mr. Biden.
From the start, she was widely criticized for being too reliant on talking points in her briefing binder, appeared out of the loop on important decisions and mistakenly declared initially that no classified documents were found during a search of the president’s Wilmington, Delaware, home.
She continues to have high-profile stumbles.
Last month, she sparked anger after she said three American soldiers killed at a U.S. military outpost in Jordan died “fighting on behalf of the [Biden] administration,” instead of America.
The comment came during an MSNBC interview in which referred to the deceased service members as “folks.”
She was also widely panned for stonewalling questions about the president’s health after special counsel Robert Hur’s report raised alarms about his cognitive abilities. Mr. Hur wrote that the president struggled to remember when he was vice president and when his son, Beau, died.
“I am not a medical doctor, I cannot comment on his overall health,” she said.
Last week, Ms. Jean-Pierre told reporters that two people were killed in the gun violence during the Kansas City Chiefs victory parade, contradicting local authorities who confirmed that only one person died. When pressed on whether she was revealing updated information or misstated the number of casualties, Ms. Jean-Pierre become flustered and defensive, insisting this was the information her staff gave her.
As a result, the administration is increasingly relying on other messengers to talk to the American public. Last week, White House Counsel’s Office spokesman Ian Sams handled the press briefing the day after Mr. Hur’s report was released. He handled tough questions for about 40 minutes, nearly twice as long as Ms. Jean-Pierre spent at the briefing.
Past press secretaries have invited officials to the podium to talk about niche topics, but some days Ms. Jean-Pierre will have two or three guests at the briefing.
In her first 100 briefings, Ms. Jean-Pierre had nearly 50 guests at the lectern, compared to her predecessor, Jen Psaki, who had 35 guests during her first 100 briefings.
At the time of her appointment in early 2022, some White House aides raised concerns about her ability to handle the job, according to a report in The New York Times. Mr. Biden reportedly tried to reassure her that she would be working with Mr. Kirby, which appeared as if he’d be supervising.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kirby has reportedly told people that he would like to be press secretary one day and Ms. Jean-Pierre has indicated to friends that she has no plans to step down, further complicating the situation.
The two have only once been questioned about the role. In September 2022, Mr. Kirby dismissed a question about whether he was a “second press secretary.”
“If anyone gets any kind of idea in their head that [I’m] taking away from Karine or her work, that’s really regrettable. And I’m very sorry that that’s any impression that anyone would have,” Mr. Kirby said at the time.
“I’m able to come up here every now and then to talk to you about national security issues. That’s my portfolio. That’s where I’m limited. That’s where I’ll stay,” he added.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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