Anonymous Biden Staffers Go Scorched Earth After "Incompetent" Karine Jean-Pierre Defects

After Karine Jean-Pierre left the Democratic Party, anonymous Biden staffers criticized her, saying she was incompetent and more interested in promoting herself than Joe Biden. According to Axios' Alex Thompson, many former Biden aides had quietly fumed about Jean-Pierre's performance as White House press secretary. Thompson reported that Jean-Pierre was part of the effort to conceal Biden's cognitive decline, vouching for his fitness despite his poor performance in a debate. Jean-Pierre announced in her new book, Independent, that she was leaving the Democratic Party and switching to independent. Immediately after, former Biden officials began criticizing her, with one saying she was "one of the most ineffectual and unprepared people I've ever worked with." Another official said Jean-Pierre "didn't know how to manage a team, didn't know how to shape or deliver a message, and often created more problems than she solved." A third official called her book a "bizarre cash grab," saying she was trying to position herself as an outsider despite having enjoyed proximity to power. The criticism continued, with another official saying Jean-Pierre gave "random incoherent answers on policy" and that she required excessive coddling and appeasement. The swift backlash against Jean-Pierre suggests that she had few defenders within the Biden administration. The criticism has been seen as a form of revenge against Jean-Pierre, who had been a prominent figure in the White House for over two years.