Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, once one of the most visible defenders of the Biden administration, has walked away from the Democratic Party. After years of working under two Democratic presidents, the former White House press secretary now calls herself an Independent.
Her decision comes ahead of the release of her new book this fall, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines, where Jean-Pierre makes a bold break from party politics. According to her publisher, the book will expose “betrayal by the Democratic Party” and what pushed President Biden to abandon his 2024 re-election bid.
Jean-Pierre doesn’t hold back. The book promises to detail her time inside a White House that she now says was deeply flawed. Her relationship with the press grew increasingly tense last year as questions mounted about President Biden’s age and health — topics she often had to defend on camera.
In the publisher’s words, Jean-Pierre’s book is a “hard-hitting yet hopeful critique,” pushing Americans to “embrace life as Independents” and challenging the idea that loyalty to one party is the only way forward.
“The two-party system is broken,” she argues through the book’s message.
In a video posted to Instagram, she made her new stance clear: “I think we need to stop thinking in boxes and think outside of our boxes and not be so partisan.”
She added, “If you are willing to stand side by side with me, regardless of … how you identify politically, and as long as you respect the community that I belong to and vulnerable communities that I respect, I will be there with you.”
Jean-Pierre made history as the first Black woman and openly LGBTQ+ person to serve as White House press secretary. Now, she’s making headlines again — this time for walking away from the party she once stood at the podium to defend.
