It was a typical Kirby response: direct, frank and undoubtedly supportive of the administration’s pro-Israel policies.
Officially, the retired Navy rear admiral speaks on behalf of the Security Council, an advisory arm of the White House. But the twin crises in Gaza and Ukraine have had the effect of giving Kirby, 60, an even more important role, as the Biden administration’s point person on both topics.
Her profile on these issues has eclipsed that of press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, fueling speculation within the chattering White House press corps that Kirby is poised to succeed her as chief spokesperson of Biden. Although White House officials adamantly insist that this is not the case, Kirby is increasingly seen as what one veteran journalist calls “the de facto co-press secretary.” (The reporter spoke on condition of anonymity because his employer would not allow him to comment.)
For several days over the past two months, Kirby and Jean-Pierre were more or less co-stars. During the briefings, Jean-Pierre literally steps aside, giving way to Kirby, when questions arise, as is inevitable, about Israel or Ukraine. Kirby also takes the lead in interviews on Israel and Gaza, frequently appearing on cable news programs and on the Sunday public affairs shows.
NSC spokespeople have briefed the press before, of course, especially during periods of international crisis. But there is no precedent in the past 20 years for the outsized role Kirby has taken on.
White House press officials declined to make Kirby available for an interview last week. Two officials spoke about the White House communications strategy involving Kirby and Jean-Pierre, but only off the record, meaning they could not be quoted directly or anonymously.
In the administration’s only statement, senior adviser Anita Dunn said the White House was “fortunate” to have Kirby and Jean-Pierre speaking “for the president’s policies and to help us brief the press on the White House “.
In fact, Kirby, a career naval officer who retired with two stars in 2015, is perhaps Washington’s most experienced government communications specialist.
Kirby first joined the Biden administration as the Pentagon’s top spokesperson — the same position he held during some of the Obama years. He also served as a State Department spokesperson under Barack Obama, succeeding Jen Psaki in that role. Prior to that, he served as spokesperson for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief Information Officer of the Navy.
Kirby was not far from the public eye during Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House, spending nearly four years as a military and foreign policy analyst on CNN.
Biden highlighted Kirby’s ‘background, knowledge and experience’ when he named it to the NSC post in May 2022, saying his resume qualified him to deal with the “complexities” of military and foreign affairs. The appointment coincided with Psaki’s departure from her post as press secretary. According to information at the time, Biden considered Kirby as Psaki’s successor, but chose Jean-Pierre. We did not know then what role Kirby would play in relation to Jean-Pierre.
Some White House observers say dividing the press secretary’s job along domestic and foreign lines makes sense, given the intensity of the two major international conflicts. A botched comment on a domestic issue could cost a president a few votes; diplomatically, this could trigger an international incident.
A self-professed Kirby fan is Gordon Johndroe, who was an NSC spokesman during the George W. Bush presidency, when Kirby worked for then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen. “He did a good job participating in briefings and being a strong voice on national security in very complicated times,” Johndroe said.
Journalists say they value Kirby’s experience and insider knowledge, as well as his way of framing complex geopolitical issues. Sometimes it can be a little too familiar. Last week, highlighting Ukraine’s need for additional military aid and the uncertainty of congressional approval, Kirby told reporters: “We still have a few weeks left here, and then we’ll get out of Schlitz.” – a reference likely to mystify anyone under the age of 60. (This is a riff on an old advertising slogan: “When you run out of Schlitz, you run out of beer.)
But as the face of the administration dealing with the highly contentious Middle East crisis, Kirby has drawn a polarized reaction to some of his comments and speaking style.
Although he has expressed regret for the deaths of Palestinians and repeatedly criticized aspects of the Israeli military response (“There are too many civilian casualties in Gaza. » he said on November 20), some say he reserved any display of emotion for Israel’s victims.
Two days after the Hamas attack on October 7, which left at least 1,200 people dead in Israel, Kirby choked while discussing violence during a CNN interview. (He does the same thing last year when he spoke about Russian atrocities against Ukrainian civilians.) On the other hand, he was more nuanced and less emotional towards the victims of Israeli actions in Gaza, said Nadia Bilbassy, Washington bureau chief of Al Arabiya, an international news channel funded in 2007. in part by the Saudi government. According to her, sharing the desk with Jean-Pierre “does not translate into more information or better answers”.
“No matter what question a journalist asks about Palestinian civilians or entire families wiped out, or more than 60 journalists killed, he will go back to lecturing about Hamas atrocities and what happened on October 7,” she said.
Referring to his appearance on CNN shortly after Hamas launched the conflict, Bilbassy added: “It’s always strange that a press secretary cries on television, showing greater sympathy towards the victims of one side but not on the other. »
In response, NSC head Adrienne Watson said in an email: “At every opportunity, Mr. Kirby forcefully argued that one civilian casualty was too many, and insisted that urgent aid reach to the Palestinians. He offered his condolences to journalists who lost loved ones in Gaza. And he expressed outrage at Hamas’s despicable strategy of intentionally endangering civilians and using them as human pawns.”
