Joe Biden’s press secretary has broken her silence on her mother’s private battle with colon cancer, revealing that she was in fact working “two full-time jobs” while caring for her mother during her time in the White House.
Karine Jean-Pierre told very few people about her mother’s health struggles, but has since revealed it Vanity fair that the then president belonged to the inner circle in whom she had confided.
The 50-year-old “drove to New York every weekend I could to see my mother,” then returned late at night to “get a few hours of sleep” before returning to the White House.
“I have been quietly working a second full-time job managing my mother’s care,” she said.
While her mother, a very private person, had asked her not to tell “anyone,” especially the president, that she was ill, Jean-Pierre admitted that this was not the only reason she withheld the devastating information.
‘I am the first black press secretary. The first person of the color press secretary. The first openly queer press secretary. The first Haitian-American immigrant press secretary. The first press secretary who was all of the above,” she said.
“Being a first meant that my responsibilities extended beyond those in the job description, making the burden heavier. I bear a certain responsibility to the communities I represent.’
Jean-Pierre said she was aware that she never wanted her mother’s illness to be misconstrued as “an excuse” while she was at work.
Karine Jean-Pierre told very few people about her mother’s health struggles, but has since revealed that the then-president was among the inner circle she confided in

The 50-year-old “drove to New York every weekend I could to see my mother,” then returned late at night to “get a few hours of sleep” before returning to the White House
“Society does not allow women of color to be vulnerable at work. “If you’re a first, you don’t get the benefit of the doubt,” she said.
Her mother is now in remission after a long and difficult battle with cancer.
Jean-Pierre remembers one of the last times she “recognized (her) mother as the woman I grew up with” — when she joined the press secretary at a state dinner with the Bidens in December 2022.
She said it was the first time post-Covid that it felt safe to host a large-scale dinner, and her mother was thrilled to be on the guest list.
Her mother told Jean-Pierre that it was “the happiest day of my life.”
Jean-Pierre does not regret having to process her grief privately, and believes this is a good time to explain ‘what I have been through, and what it is like to come from where I come from and in the public eye. .’
During her final news conference of the Biden administration, Jean-Pierre spent several minutes thanking her colleagues, her family and the president, noting that this was the administration’s 537th news conference and its 306th briefing.
She said she hoped her visible, public role would be an “inspiration to a lot of young girls out there.”

Jean-Pierre (center with her mother and sister) recalled one of the last times she “recognized (her) mother as the woman I grew up with” — when she joined the press secretary at a state dinner with the Bidens in December 2022

Jean-Pierre faced widespread criticism last month after Biden pardoned his son Hunter, despite her repeated assurances that he had no such plans
Jean-Pierre faced widespread criticism last month after Biden pardoned his son Hunter, despite her repeated assurances that he had no such plans.
But she insisted the president was a truthful man who only made up his mind the same weekend he made the announcement.
“First of all, one of the things the president has always believed in is being fair to the American people,” she said.
Jean-Pierre tried desperately to cling to the argument that Biden still had faith in the justice system, even though it had failed his son.
“Two things can be true,” she said. “The president does believe in the legal system and the Justice Department, and he also believes that his son was politically sidelined.”
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in September and was scheduled to be sentenced on December 16.