Report: Biden’s Offhand Remark Set Stage for Toxic KJP-Kirby Press Secretary Rivalry

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If you’re in the habit of watching White House news briefings — and I know there are some of you masochists out there — you might be confused whether Karine Jean-Pierre or John Kirby is the one in charge in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

You’re not the only one, and this confusion apparently extends to both KJP and Kirby.

Not only that, but according to a new report, President Joe Biden may have set the stage by undermining Jean-Pierre with a comment he made to her before she became the first black LGBT woman to have the title of press secretary — implying, probably accidentally, that Kirby would be providing oversight for the much younger, less-experienced KJP.

The extent of the toxic behind-the-scenes relationship between Jean-Pierre and Kirby, a retired admiral and the coordinator of strategic communications for the National Security Council, was a bit of an open Beltway secret when Axios’ Alex Thompson made it a very open secret with a Jan. 5 report.

“They share a podium — and a mutual frustration. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the National Security Council’s John Kirby frequently split the podium at media briefings, but behind the scenes their relationship is fraught with tension, White House sources tell Axios,” Thompson wrote.

“Some of the tension stems from how much time each gets at the podium each day,” he added. “Kirby — a Biden favorite who has become the public face of the administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas war — has told people he’d like to be White House press secretary one day.

“Jean-Pierre has told people she plans to stay in the job through the election and beyond if Biden wants her — and that he has asked her not to leave.”

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