Karine Jean-Pierre, 44, who takes over from Jen Psaki on May 13 after serving as her deputy, is a partner of CNN’s national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, 55, and the two have a seven-year-old daughter, Soleil. And while the trailblazing and historic nature of her appointment was being celebrated by many - Jean-Pierre is the first black woman and first openly gay person to do the job - others were shocked by conflicts of interest.
The network has had to survive the dismissal of Chris Cuomo in December over his involvement in brother Andrew Cuomo’s sex harassment scandal and then two months later dumped network President Jeff Zucker over his secret romance with CNN co-worker Allison Gollust.
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Juwan Holmes, the associate editor of the online magazine LGBTQ Nation, spent the last two years writing regarding Jean-Pierre’s work and announced he anticipated the concern.
“I’m sure there won’t be Cuomo-level conflict of interest violations but expect it to have it bought up in the future…” he stated. Others quickly denounced the network.
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“This is one of many examples of the corporate media LITERALLY in bed with the government it covers,” tweeted Alex Marlow, editor-in-chief of Breitbart. Malveaux, who joined CNN in 2002, and Jean-Pierre are familiar faces on the DC scene - most recently attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner together on Saturday night.
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The pair met in 2012 at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Psaki confessed she struggled to fight back the tears as she presented Jean-Pierre as her successor, calling her “partner in truth.”
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“I’m going to cry,” an emotional Psaki stated at the beginning of her briefing on Thursday as she brought her successor up to the podium and hugged her.
“I just want to take the opportunity to celebrate and congratulate my friend, my colleague, my partner in truth Karine Jean-Pierre, the next White House Press Secretary,” Psaki announced.
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Fox News’ Peter Doocy then stated he would miss his favorite sparring partner Psaki in the briefing room. She dryly replied by asking: “Will you?”
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Psaki declined to comment on her future amid speculation she will likely head to MSNBC and announced she is only looking forward to “sleeping” and “reading books.” She then asked reporters for Netflix suggestions.
“Karine not only brings the experience, talent and integrity needed for this difficult job, but she will continue to lead the way in communicating about the work of the Biden-Harris Administration on behalf of the American people,” Biden announced in a statement.
Biden stated that he and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden “have known and respected Karine a long time and she will be a strong voice speaking for me and this Administration.”