Karine Jean-Pierre reveals her mother’s cancer diagnosis and why she kept it a secret

Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took a look behind the podium in a statement to Americans. Vanity Fair the piece was published on Tuesday.

Jean-Pierre, who chose to keep his personal life private while serving in the Biden-Harris administration, revealed a personal health struggle that took a significant toll on him and his family.

Jean-Pierre recalled Attending the Bidens’ first state dinner in December 2022, he said “this is the first time the administration feels it is safe to host a dinner since the pandemic began.” That evening, Jean-Pierre was accompanied by his mother, who told him it was “the happiest day of my life”.

The state dinner was the last time Jean-Pierre “got to know my mother as the woman I grew up to be.” Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse and just a few months later, her mother was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer. Jean-Pierre learned that his mother was ill while visiting Poland with then-President Joe Biden.

The former press secretary wrote: “My mother has always been a private person. When she finally came to terms with reality, she told me: ‘Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell the president that I have cancer.”

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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House on October 30, 2023 in Washington. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden was allegedly “one of the few In the White HouseWho knew what Jean-Pierre’s mother was going through. Jean-Pierre said Biden “showed up for me” in difficult times.

While he and his siblings cared for his mother, Jean-Pierre drove to New York “every weekend to see my mother,” only to return late at night to catch “a few hours of sleep” before heading to the White House.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 9, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)

Despite serving in a very public role in the Biden-Harris administration, coordinating his mother’s care with his “second full-time job,” Jean-Pierre explained that it’s just one of the reasons he’s a “private person.” publicize his mother’s battle with cancer. The former press secretary said he was also working under the “weight” of being “first”.

“I am the first Black press secretary. The first person of color press secretary. The first openly queer press secretary. The first Haitian American immigrant press secretary. The first press secretary to be all of the above. Being the first. My responsibilities went beyond what was in my job description. I have a responsibility.” Jean-Pierre wrote.

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Jean-Pierre also claimed that she believes sharing her mother’s diagnosis will be seen “as an excuse” because “society doesn’t allow women of color to be vulnerable at work. When you’re a first, you don’t get the benefit of the doubt.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took over in May 2022 when Jen Psaki left for MSNBC. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarck)

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During his time in the White House briefing room, Jean-Pierre faced criticism for a number of embarrassing and controversial moments.

In one of his more infamous moments, Jean-Pierre accused the media and others of making “cheap fakes” that made Biden look “particularly weak or mentally confused.” As the American people wondered whether the commander-in-chief was capable of fulfilling the duties of his office, Jean-Pierre fired back at them by calling them “misinformation” and “disinformation.”

After Biden spoke out against Georgia’s voting laws, calling them “Jim Crow 2.0,” Jean-Pierre raised eyebrows by claiming that “high turnout and voter suppression can happen at the same time.”

Jean-Pierre was also tasked with ruling out the possibility of the president pardoning his son Hunter Biden. After the president granted his son’s pardon, despite his repeated promises not to, Jean-Pierre made the point by saying that “circumstances have changed.” At the same time, he blamed the president-elect Trump at the time, saying that the president was trying to protect his son from the “revenge” of the Republicans.

In May 2022, Jean-Pierre succeeded his predecessor, Jen Psaki, who served as Biden’s press secretary for about a year and a half. As Psaki handed over the reins to Jean-Pierre, he called his successor a “beautiful man” before enumerating his qualifications for the position.