Karine Jean-Pierre reveals mom's cancer diagnosis — and why she kept it secret

Former White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre gave Americans a look down the podium successful a telling Vanity Fair portion published connected Tuesday. 

Jean-Pierre, who chose to support her idiosyncratic beingness backstage portion moving successful the Biden-Harris administration, revealed a backstage wellness conflict that enactment important value connected her and her family.

Jean-Pierre recalled attending the Bidens’ archetypal authorities meal successful December 2022, saying it was "the archetypal clip the medication felt a meal was harmless to big since the pandemic began." That evening Jean-Pierre was accompanied by her mother, who told her that it was "the happiest time of my life."

The authorities meal was the past clip Jean-Pierre "recognized my parent arsenic the pistillate I grew up with." Unfortunately, things took a turn, and conscionable a mates of months later, her parent was diagnosed with signifier II colon cancer. Jean-Pierre recovered retired that her parent was sick portion visiting Poland with then-President Joe Biden.

"My parent has ever been a backstage person. When she yet acquiesced to reality, she told me: ‘Don’t archer anyone. Do not archer the president I person cancer,’" the erstwhile property caput wrote.

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Then-White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the regular briefing successful the Brady Briefing Room of the White House successful Washington, D.C., connected Oct. 30, 2023. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden was supposedly "one of lone a fewer radical at the White House" who knew astir what Jean-Pierre’s parent was going through. Jean-Pierre said Biden "showed up for me" during the hard time.

While navigating her mother’s attraction alongside her siblings, Jean-Pierre was driving to New York "every play I could to spot my mom," lone to instrumentality precocious astatine nighttime to drawback "a fewer hours of sleep" earlier heading to the White House.

White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a quality league successful the Brady Press Briefing Room astatine the White House connected April 9, 2024 successful Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Despite serving successful a precise public-facing relation successful the Biden-Harris medication with her "second full-time job" coordinating her mother’s care, Jean-Pierre explained that being a "private person" is lone 1 of the reasons wherefore she did not marque her mom’s crab conflict public. The erstwhile property caput said she was besides moving nether the "weight" of being a "first."

"I’m the archetypal Black property secretary. The archetypal idiosyncratic of colour property secretary. The archetypal openly queer property secretary. The archetypal Haitian American migrant property secretary. The archetypal property caput to beryllium each of the above. Being a archetypal meant that my responsibilities were beyond those successful the occupation description, the load heavier. I carnivore a definite work to the communities I represent," Jean-Pierre wrote.

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Jean-Pierre besides claimed that she believed sharing her mother’s diagnosis would person been seen "as an excuse" due to the fact that "society doesn’t let women of colour to beryllium susceptible astatine work. When you’re a first, you don’t get the payment of the doubt."

White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre took implicit the relation successful May 2022, erstwhile Jen Psaki near for MSNBC. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

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During her clip successful the White House briefing room, Jean-Pierre faced disapproval for a bid of embarrassing and arguable moments.

In 1 of her much infamous moments, Jean-Pierre accused the media and others of making "cheap fakes" that made Biden "appear particularly frail oregon mentally confused." As the American radical wondered if the commandant successful main was susceptible of carrying retired the duties of his office, Jean-Pierre was gaslighting them by chalking it up to "misinformation" and "disinformation."

After Biden spoke retired against Georgia's voting laws, dubbing them "Jim Crow 2.0," Jean-Pierre raised eyebrows with her assertion that "high turnout and elector suppression tin instrumentality spot astatine the aforesaid time."

Jean-Pierre was besides tasked with walking backmost denials of the anticipation that the president would pardon his son, Hunter Biden. Once the president issued his son's pardon, contempt repeatedly vowing not to bash so, Jean-Pierre explained the pivot by saying that the "circumstances person changed." She besides placed the blasted connected then-President-elect Trump, saying that the president was trying to support his lad from Republican "retribution."

In May 2022, Jean-Pierre took implicit for her predecessor Jen Psaki, who served arsenic Biden’s property caput for astir a twelvemonth and a half. When handing the reins implicit to Jean-Pierre, Psaki called her successor a "remarkable person" earlier listing her qualifications for the position.