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Karine Jean-Pierre held her first briefing as the brand new White Home press secretary on Monday, crediting “barrier-breaking individuals” who got here earlier than her for making it doable for a Black, homosexual, immigrant girl like herself to rise to probably the most high-profile jobs in American authorities.
“I stand on their shoulders. If it weren’t for generations of barrier-breaking individuals earlier than me, I’d not be right here,” Jean-Pierre mentioned. “However I profit from their sacrifices. I’ve discovered from their excellence and I’m eternally grateful to them.”
President Joe Biden entrusted Jean-Pierre, 47, and the daughter of Haitian immigrants, with the accountability of being his chief spokesperson earlier this month. Jen Psaki, who had held the job because the begin of the administration, stepped down final Friday.
Jean-Pierre is the primary Black girl and brazenly LGBTQ particular person to function White Home press secretary. She had been the principal deputy press secretary and led the briefing on a number of events. She additionally held common off-camera “gaggles” with the a lot smaller group of reporters who journey aboard Air Power One with the president.
Jean-Pierre takes over because the White Home faces an uphill battle to assist Democrats maintain onto the Home and Senate in November’s midterm elections, and because the administration struggles to handle the general public’s issues about rising shopper costs and the state of the financial system.
She additionally steps up as Biden faces a frightening array of international coverage challenges, together with Russia’s struggle in opposition to Ukraine and North Korea’s escalating nuclear testing program. Biden is ready to go to South Korea and Japan later this week, adopted by stops in Europe in June.
Jean-Pierre opened Monday’s briefing by sharing transient biographies of the ten Black individuals who had been killed Saturday throughout a racially motivated capturing at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store. She’s going to accompany Biden when he visits the town on Tuesday.
“Illustration does matter,” Jean-Pierre mentioned as she credited Biden with constructing a various administration, beginning with Kamala Harris as the primary girl and particular person of Black and Indian descent to be elected vice chairman.
She sought to shift consideration away from herself, saying the White Home and the press briefing room belong to the American individuals and she or he works “for them.”
“It isn’t about me. It is about them,” she mentioned, earlier than pledging to proceed to work to verify the White Home press crew she now leads meets Biden’s expectations of offering the general public with “reality, honesty and transparency.”
Jean-Pierre additionally spoke Monday of her “great respect” for the work of the journalists seated within the briefing room and ready to pepper her with questions.
“The press performs an important function in our democracy and we want a robust and impartial press now greater than ever,” she mentioned. “We’d not see eye to eye right here on this room on a regular basis, which is OK. That give and take is so extremely wholesome and it is part of our democracy and I stay up for participating with all of you on that.”
Psaki weighed in from the sidelines.
“Proud to know you @PressSec,” utilizing Jean-Pierre’s new Twitter deal with. “Illustration issues. Nice job on day one. Rooting for you from house.”
Jean-Pierre labored on Biden’s presidential marketing campaign earlier than following him to the White Home. Earlier than the marketing campaign, she was the chief public affairs officer of the progressive group MoveOn and a political analyst for NBC and MSNBC. She additionally labored on political affairs in President Barack Obama’s White Home and on his reelection marketing campaign, in addition to quite a few different Democratic political campaigns.
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