Karine Jean-Pierre, former White House press secretary, has only been out of the job for two months, but she’s already enjoying life away from the press briefing podium. The former Biden spokesperson and senior advisor recently shared that while she truly valued her time in the role, she’s not exactly missing the high-pressure job.
“It was an honor and a privilege to have the job and to have done it for two and a half years, but I don’t miss it,” Jean-Pierre said while attending the Broadway opening night of Othello, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, in New York City.
Jean-Pierre, who made history as the first Black American and first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve as White House press secretary, said she’s been soaking up the downtime since leaving the White House. The past couple of months have been all about “self-care, sleep, hanging out with my family, hanging out with my friends,” and enjoying things like Broadway shows. She’s also been able to spend more quality time with her daughter, whom she shares with ex-wife Suzanne Malveaux.
Jean-Pierre’s tenure as press secretary was also historic for another reason—she served longer than most in modern history, with only two other press secretaries serving longer than her 2 years and 252 days in the past 20 years.
While Jean-Pierre hasn’t announced what’s next for her, she’s been staying busy with public appearances, including a recent talk at Harvard University. There, she spoke about how her former boss, President Joe Biden, was treated as the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee in last year’s election, calling it a “firing squad.”
“I have never seen anything like that,” she said, according to The Harvard Crimson. “It was truly, truly unfortunate. And I think it hurt us more than folks realized to have done that.”
Jean-Pierre also had a heartwarming reunion with Biden and former first lady Jill Biden at the Othello premiere. She shared a photo from the night on Instagram, writing, “It was also great to share this experience alongside @joebiden and @drbiden, who received a beautiful, heartfelt welcome in the theater.”
