“I’m everything Donald Trump hates”. This is what Karine Jean-Pierre said a few months ago, before adding: “I’m gay, I’m black, and I’m a mother.” The fact is there: it is the first time that a black and openly lesbian woman will occupy this prestigious post of spokesperson at the White House. Karine Jean-Pierre lives in a relationship with a CNN journalist, with whom she has a little girl named Soleil.
There was a lot of emotion on the evening of May 5; in the press room, when the current spokesperson Jen Psaki, announced this handover, which will officially take place on May 13, in a week. Jen Psaki was on the verge of tears when she took Karine Jean-Pierre in her arms: “Representing all of this matters. Karine is going to give so many people a voice, show so many people what’s possible when you work hard and dream big.”. The departure of Jen Psaki is not a surprise, she had always announced that she would stop during her mandate. And the appointment of Karine Jean-Pierre is not a surprise either, she was already deputy spokesperson. But that takes nothing away from the scope of the symbol.
Karine Jean-Pierre also has real links with France. The new spokesperson, now 44 years old, is French-speaking. And for good reason: she was born in Fort-de-France, Martinique, to Haitian parents who had fled the Duvalier dictatorship. As a child, she then lived in Paris for some time, before her parents settled in New York in the Queens district. His father then became a taxi driver (there are many Haitian taxi drivers in New York) and his mother a caregiver.
Karine Jean-Pierre’s career is then that of the incarnation of a dazzling social ascent. One of those courses that make the legend of the United States. She also told it a few months ago during an interview with our colleague Sonia Dridi from France 24: “That’s the American dream, to come here as an immigrant and fulfill that dream, that’s the hallmark of this country.” Her parents would have liked to see her become a doctor. But after studying at the famous Columbia University, Karine Jean-Pierre prefers social and political commitment.
In 2008, Karine Jean-Pierre was only 30 years old and she entered the Democratic primary alongside one of the candidates, John Edwards. Barack Obama wins the primary. Karine Jean-Pierre joins her campaign team. We know the rest. The daughter of Haitian immigrants will also be part of the 2012 campaign, that of Obama’s re-election. She then became a lecturer at Columbia University, where she had studied, then became involved in associations for the defense of rights. She is an active activist, with a strong personality, often dressed in bright yellow. We can’t miss it. In 2020, we find her as a political adviser within Joe Biden’s campaign team. She is also close to Vice President Kamala Harris.
On May 13, she will therefore access the famous desk in the press room. Six months before the midterm elections, she will become the face of the White House.