(HorizonPost.com) – White House spokesman Andrew Bates categorically denied the rumors that some White House staffers plotted to get rid of press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, calling the claims “wildly false.”
Anonymous White House sources claimed that White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and Biden advisor Anita Dunn were behind an effort to get Jean-Pierre to step down over dissatisfaction with her inability to field questions without reading the answers directly from her binder.
Bates said Jean-Pierre had never been approached by anyone urging her to leave and insisted that such a suggestion would never been made by either Zeints or Dunn whom he claimed supported Jean-Pierre “unflinchingly.”
Bates also took issue with the claim that Zeints and Dunn objected to Jean-Pierre’s reliance on her binder. He noted that every press secretary consults a binder and claimed that Jean-Pierre was being “singled out.”
The White House sources claimed that the reason Jean-Pierre was being asked to voluntarily leave rather than being terminated was the “diversity issue.”
However, Jeff Zients also disputed the anonymous sources, insisting that Jean-Pierre was “an incredibly talented communicator” whom the White House was “lucky to have” as press secretary.
Zients said everyone in the White House, including President Biden, “deeply values” Jean-Pierre.
In January, White House sources suggested that there was growing tension between Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby who has made regular appearances at daily press briefings since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.
Both Jean-Pierre and Kirby denied the claim that there was a “tense podium battle” between them and each issued press statements lauding the other.
Kirby described the press secretary as “ground-breaking” and a “trail-blazing professional” who was a “role model.” He said it was his privilege to watch Jean-Pierre work “and learn from her.”
Jean-Pierre expressed respect for Kirby’s military service and said she was proud to work with him and “enjoyed getting to know him.”
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