Karine Jean-Pierre book excerpt on working for ‘doomed’ candidates resurfaces
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who once wrote about what it feels like to work for faltering political candidates, says it feels "totally different now" to be working for President Biden.
An excerpt of her 2019 book went viral this week that was headlined, "What it's like working for a doomed presidential candidate." Jean-Pierre responded to the resurfaced writing this week by praising her embattled boss, who is facing calls to step down from some Democrats and liberal pundits after his alarming debate performance.
"I can tell you now feels totally different, working for the best President in modern history, whose agenda of fighting for the middle class and protecting freedoms and the rule of law unites the American people," Jean-Pierre told Fox News Digital."
In an excerpt of the book published in Salon, the then-MSNBC political analyst provided her account of working for both former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and former Rep. Anthony Weiner, whose careers both eventually collapsed over sex scandals.
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"What makes a politician successful is also what can turn them — sometimes — into entitled narcissists who believe they can get away with things mere mortals cannot," Jean-Pierre wrote in ""Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of America."
"There's nothing more dispiriting than working on a dying campaign. The atmosphere resembles one of those sad birthday balloons with the air slowly seeping out as it deflates," she wrote.
Jean-Pierre's article resurfaced as she serves as chief spokesperson for a president whose fitness for office is under its most serious scrutiny yet. Biden's re-election chances are being questioned by a growing number of Democrats after his widely criticized performance at last Thursday’s presidential debate that raised more questions about his health and mental viability.
Jean-Pierre admitted Tuesday that Biden had a "bad night" but insisted that he "knows how to do the job" of president.
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The current White House official’s article from four years ago described her time working on Edwards' presidential campaign during the 2008 presidential cycle. An afterthought in the race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Edwards dropped out after failing to win any primaries. He later admitted to an extramarital affair while his wife was sick with cancer and his political prospects never recovered.
"Did I or any of the other midlevel staffers have any idea that Edwards was conducting a torrid affair with the campaign videographer, a woman named Rielle Hunter? Or that the couple would conceive a daughter and then try to get one of Edwards's closest campaign aides to claim that he, Andrew Young, was the father?" Jean-Pierre wrote.
Jean-Pierre said she didn’t know these details at the time, adding not working for Obama's campaign from the start instead was one of her greatest regrets. She later worked on his successful general election campaign.
Jean-Pierre also raved about Weiner's political abilities but noted that of his many gifts, "self-control" wasn't one of them. Weiner's sexting habits derailed his congressional career and 2013 New York City mayoral bid, and he eventually served prison time for transferring obscene material to a minor.
"So I end this cautionary tale on ‘flawed candidates’ with this warning: believe in the mission, not the messenger. You, the volunteer or staffer, should believe in the politician's mission, their goal of changing society, more than in the politician him or herself," Jean-Pierre wrote.