Anyone who works for the most powerful politicians in the world can get confused at times. So did the chief spokeswoman for the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre. But she masters the situation in a sympathetic way – and causes a few laughs in the room.
A little journey into the past in the White House: US President Joe Biden’s spokeswoman caused laughter at the daily press conference with a slip of the tongue. “As you all saw about an hour ago, President Obama announced today that…” said Karine Jean-Pierre.
She immediately noticed her mistake and corrected herself: “Sorry, President Biden.” She jokingly added, “Whoaaaa, that’s news.” Barack Obama was US President from 2009 to 2017. During that time, Biden was his running mate.
Jean-Pierre, 48, has been the White House press secretary for almost a year. She then succeeded Jen Psaki. Biden’s predecessor Obama knows her quite well from previous jobs. She worked for Obama during several campaigns, including during his presidency.
In a 2020 testimonial, she explained what she learned while on Obama’s team: “When I was working for President Obama, there were a few key mantras that our team followed. Always be prepared and do your homework: know your stuff .” One thing she obviously never forgot, despite all the new things she had learned: Obama’s name. “Whoaaaa”.
