Karine Jean-Pierre has yielded her prominence to Admiral John Kirby in a manner described as “unprecedented” as the White House approaches a crucial election season, according to a scrutiny of briefing data by the Daily Caller.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, John Kirby has consistently participated in briefings alongside Karine Jean-Pierre to address reporters’ inquiries regarding the foreign conflict. Despite Americans indicating that the war is not their top concern, Kirby has consistently been present at briefings, having missed only five from October until February 27. In the briefings held in 2024, comprising 19 out of the total 22, Kirby has responded to questions for nearly the same duration as Jean-Pierre.
As of February 27, Jean-Pierre has dedicated approximately 11 hours and 31 minutes to the White House press briefing podium in 22 briefings this year. Meanwhile, in 19 briefings, Kirby has responded to questions for just under nine hours and two minutes. In those 19 joint briefings with Kirby and Jean-Pierre, the press secretary spoke for nearly nine hours and 11 minutes, creating an almost perfect fifty-fifty split with her counterpart.
Sean Spicer, former press secretary for ex-President Donald Trump, conveyed to the Daily Caller, “There is no precedent for this. Press secretaries always bring guests, right? It’s like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have the OMB [the Office of Management and Budget] guys brief you on the budget and talk to you about that.’ That’s normal. That’s as old as the job. But this idea that you have a co-press secretary is unprecedented.”
Some other names have made appearances at briefings and gaggles, either alongside Jean-Pierre or Kirby: deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, White House spokesman for oversight and investigations Ian Sams and a few other policy-specific officials from the administration.
But none have appeared nearly as often as Kirby, who Jean-Pierre was reportedly concerned might usurp her as press secretary when she first got the job. Biden “awkwardly” added that Kirby would be joining Jean-Pierre’s team when the president gave her the press secretary position in 2022, leaving her “upset and confused,” according to Axios.
Jean-Pierre’s appointment was lauded as historic and powerful when she got the job — she’s the first black press secretary, and is also a lesbian woman of immigrant parents. From the beginning, things have reportedly been rocky, though — Biden also allegedly said that Jean-Pierre didn’t need to worry because she’d “have an admiral looking over your shoulder,” a comment that was not received well by the new press secretary.
Amid the tension between Kirby and Jean-Pierre, the latter’s top deputy, Dalton, is reportedly ditching the White House for a gig at Apple.
That leaves a clear path to the top job for Kirby. He has told some around the White House he’s interested in the position, according to Axios, but other White House officials denied those accounts.
When it comes to gaggles, Kirby has appeared at more as of late, speaking at seven of them between the start of the year and Feb. 16 for a total of more than an hour and seven minutes. The pair has attended four gaggles together, with Jean-Pierre answering questions for more than 41 minutes.
“I don’t think the dynamic is awkward to begin with. I think they did it under the presence, under the guise of national security and foreign affairs. But the reality is, Kirby has really taken over a lot more, for obvious reasons,” Spicer said. “The press secretary should be able to handle all of the issues and it’s pretty obvious that there’s a level of competence that just doesn’t exist.”
The White House previously attributed Kirby’s frequent presence at briefings to the war in the Middle East, adding that he will be featured less once it subsides, the New York Times reported.
The White House and the National Security Council did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
Kirby’s attendance at the briefings has dipped slightly. Spanning from Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel until Jan. 5, 2024, Jean-Pierre had only held one press briefing or gaggle on Air Force One by herself, according to an Axios count. Jean-Pierre was always accompanied by Kirby or even on occasion National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The national security council spokesperson has continued to attend the press briefings alongside Jean-Pierre specifically because the president enjoys it, Axios reported. Biden has reportedly asked the spokesman to personally brief him and also travel with him on both domestic and international trips.
In devoting roughly half their briefing time with Kirby in attendance to foreign affairs, the White House is granting a disproportionate amount of air to issues voters say they aren’t as concerned about. Americans have indicated that they are more interested in domestic topics, with immigration now the top issue among the populous, according to a February Gallup poll. Twenty-eight percent of Americans say the issue is their main priority while just 3% say foreign aid and issues overseas are the most important to them.
The next top concern was government, as 20% of Americans voted it their main worry, the Gallup poll showed. “Economy in general,” inflation, “poverty/hunger/homelessness” and “unifying the country” followed in Americans’ most important issues.
With Kirby focused on issues falling into international affairs, Jean-Pierre remains the public face of the administration on most domestic issues. Biden’s poll numbers on many of those issues are struggling, and some have wondered if she is long for the job. Her predecessor, Jen Psaki, departed the post just shy of the 16-month mark.
Kirby’s performance has been better received by some observers.
“Sometimes I’ll tweet out, like, ‘this was a good job by Kirby.’ I’ve had a number of [Republicans] tell me that Kirby gets it. I mean, I actually think he has the respect of Republicans. And so therefore, they listen to what he has to say and they find him to be a credible messenger. I don’t think anybody respects Karine,” Scott Jennings, a longtime GOP adviser in Kentucky and veteran of numerous campaigns, told the Daily Caller.
“And so if you’re a White House, and you’re trying to communicate to the larger world and also the people in Washington, you know, your chief messenger has to be credible and respected. I think Kirby has achieved that.”
“I can’t remember a time when this has happened. I mean, it seems to me they give Kirby all the important things to talk about. And they let her talk about the rest,” Jennings told the Daily Caller.
Thomas McGiffin contributed to this report.
