• Join Puck

    Directly Supporting Authors

    A new economic model in which writers are also partners in the business.

    Personalized Subscriptions

    Customize your settings to receive the newsletters you want from the authors you follow.

    Stay in the Know

    Connect directly with Puck talent through email and exclusive events.

  • What is puck? Newsletters Authors Podcasts Events Gift Puck Careers

Karine Toward a Cliff

K.J.P. is politically homeless after an ill-timed defection from the Democratic Party—yet another misstep for a White House press secretary who could never read the room. Worse, she appears to be positioning herself for a second act on television at the very moment that the industry is melting away.

Karine Jean-Pierre
Even before becoming press secretary in 2022, Karine had jettisoned much of the good will she’d built due to her managerial inexperience, her refusal to work stories, and her glaring lack of policy expertise. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Dylan Byers
June 6, 2025

On Wednesday, former Biden White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, whom many recall fecklessly defending the president in the wake of his CNN debate nightmare, announced that she was defecting from the Democratic Party she had served for the entirety of her career. The announcement was conveniently timed to the release of her forthcoming memoir, Independent. In a press release, Karine said she’d “determined that the danger we face as a country requires freeing ourselves of boxes.”