Nationwide — Biden’s former press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, has left the Democratic Party and now identifies as an independent. In her upcoming book, she explains her decision and shares her thoughts on President Biden’s exit from the 2024 race. Jean-Pierre, who worked in Democratic politics for years, will release her book Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines in October 2025. Jean-Pierre notes that her decision to leave the party came after deep reflection and wasn’t made lightly.
The book covers the three weeks leading up to Biden’s decision to step down from his re-election bid. It also describes what Jean-Pierre sees as betrayal by top Democrats during that period. Biden withdrew after a poor debate performance, and Kamala Harris went on to lose the election to Donald Trump.
For over two years, Jean-Pierre served as the White House press secretary. Before that, she worked on the Biden-Harris 2020 campaign, in the Obama administration, and for the progressive group MoveOn.
During her time as press secretary, she was often questioned about Biden’s age and health, especially after the debate that led to his withdrawal from the race.
In a statement to CNN, Jean-Pierre said, “Until January 20, I was responsible for speaking on behalf of the President of the United States. At noon on that day, I became a private citizen who, like all Americans and many of our allies around the world, had to contend with what was to come next for our country. We need to be clear-eyed and questioning, rather than blindly loyal and obedient as we may have been in the past.”