White House Relations between press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby are “very tense,” according to a new report.
In an article titled: “The tense battle for the podium at the White House“, sources told Axios, Kirby is a “Biden favorite” who often talks about foreign policy, while Jean-Pierre focuses more on domestic issues.
“Jean-Pierre and Kirby have shared the podium in the White House press room more frequently since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October – escalating tensions that began in the spring of 2022, when Jen Psaki left her position as press secretary, as well as current and former Biden officials said,” according to the report.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE’S MOST MEMORABLE CLASHES WITH REPORTERS THROUGHOUT 2023
Relations between White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby are “very tense,” Axios reported Friday. (Getty Images)
While Jean-Pierre and Kirby both shared their “frustration” with appearing together, they both “continue to appear on the podium together for one reason: Biden likes it.”
Kirby speaks often with the president Joe Bidenbriefing him “personally” at his request and sometimes traveling with the president aboard Air Force One.
Kirby also expressed to allies that he “would like to be a White House press secretary one day,” according to Axios, although another official told the outlet that was not the case. The report said Jean-Pierre was upset when she was first offered the position in 2022 because it seemed like she would have to do it in tandem with Kirby, and some Black Democrats felt she was weakened and treated differently because of her race.
“Some Black Democrats within the administration and on Capitol Hill said the situation was insulting because it suggested that the first Black press secretary representing the president needed oversight,” the report said.
While Jean-Pierre and Kirby both shared their “frustration” with appearing together, they both “continue to appear on the podium together for one reason: Biden likes it.” (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The numbers show how often Jean-Pierre has to share the podium with Kirby.
“In the more than 30 press briefings and groups held since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, Jean-Pierre has briefed journalists only once, during a group aboard ‘Air Force One,’ according to the report. “Kirby accompanied her to every other briefing she conducted except three, where she was joined by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. (Sullivan joined once because Kirby was ill , according to two people familiar with the matter.)”
Another part of the report says Jean-Pierre decides which reporters Kirby calls on even when he’s doing the briefing, which some aides see as a “sign of Jean-Pierre’s insecurity,” the report said.
A White House official who works closely with Kirby and Jean-Pierre told Fox News Digital that they had a good working relationship.
“As someone who spends more time ‘behind closed doors’ with the two of them than with anyone else, I don’t recognize this description of their relationship at all,” the official said. “The truth is just the opposite: They talk all the time and have a collegial, collaborative relationship.”
Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
