Former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre opened up about a deeply personal struggle in a recent Vanity Fair article published Tuesday. Known for her guarded demeanor regarding her personal life during her tenure in the Biden-Harris administration, Jean-Pierre shared the emotional journey of her mother’s battle with stage II colon cancer.
Jean-Pierre recalled attending the Bidens’ first state dinner in December 2022, a milestone that marked a return to in-person events following pandemic restrictions. Accompanying her was her mother, who described it as “the happiest day of my life.” Reflecting on the event, Jean-Pierre said it was the last time she “recognized my mother as the woman I grew up with.”
Just months later, her mother was diagnosed with cancer while Jean-Pierre was on a trip to Poland with then-President Joe Biden.
“My mother has always been a private person,” Jean-Pierre revealed in the interview. “When she finally acquiesced to reality, she told me: ‘Don’t tell anyone. Do not tell the president I have cancer.’”
Despite her mother’s wishes, Biden was one of the few people at the White House aware of her mother’s condition, according to Jean-Pierre. “He showed up for me,” she said, highlighting Biden’s empathy during her family’s crisis.
Jean-Pierre managed her mother’s care while juggling her high-profile role at the White House. She frequently traveled to New York on weekends to visit her mother, often arriving back in Washington late at night with just hours of rest before resuming her duties.
For Jean-Pierre, her decision to keep her mother’s diagnosis private went beyond her reserved nature. As the first Black press secretary, the first openly queer press secretary, the first Haitian American immigrant press secretary, and the first to hold all these titles simultaneously, she felt immense pressure.
“Being a first meant that my responsibilities were beyond those in the job description,” she wrote. “I bear a certain responsibility to the communities I represent.”
She added that disclosing her mother’s diagnosis might have been misinterpreted as a lack of capability. “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.”
Jean-Pierre’s time in the administration wasn’t without challenges. Critics often scrutinized her public statements. Notable controversies included her assertion that media “cheap fakes” misrepresented Biden as frail or mentally confused. She also faced backlash for saying “high turnout and voter suppression can take place at the same time” after Biden condemned Georgia’s voting laws as “Jim Crow 2.0.”
Additionally, she navigated questions about the president’s stance on pardoning his son, Hunter Biden. When the president ultimately issued a pardon, she defended the decision by attributing it to changing circumstances and concerns about political “retribution” from Republicans.
Jean-Pierre succeeded Jen Psaki as press secretary in May 2022. Upon passing the baton, Psaki praised her as a “remarkable person,” emphasizing the qualifications that made her ready for the demanding role.
