Former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean‑Pierre announced she has officially left the Democratic Party, declaring she “couldn’t stomach” remaining after what she described as the party’s “horrible” treatment of former President Joe Biden.
In her forthcoming memoir, Jean-Pierre recounts her dismay when the party she once defended and helped lead turned on Biden following a widely criticized debate performance. She says the decision marked a turning point: “The Democratic Party had defined my life… Now I’m going my own way,” she writes.
Having served as the first Black and openly LGBTQ White House press secretary, Jean-Pierre said she never expected the shift. “I believed in the process,” she explains, “but when the people you defended start to abandon you and the institution you believed in seems broken, at some point you have to ask: What am I still standing for?”
Jean-Pierre revealed she made the decision to become an independent in June 2025, citing the need to realign with her values instead of party expectations. She plans to discuss the change and its implications for America’s two-party system on national television ahead of her book’s release.