Joe Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, has recently spoken about the challenge of balancing her duties in the White House with caring for her mother who was battling colon cancer. She described this period as essentially managing ‘two full-time jobs’ simultaneously.

Despite keeping her mother’s illness private, Jean-Pierre eventually shared the details with a select few, including then-President Biden, whom she considered part of her trusted circle. This revelation came to light in an interview with Vanity Fair.

Amidst her demanding work schedule, the 50-year-old made regular trips to New York to be with her mother every available weekend, often returning to the White House in the late hours of the night. This routine allowed her only a few hours of sleep before resuming her official duties.

‘I have been silently working a second full-time job, which is navigating my mother’s care,’ she said.

While her mom, a very private person, had asked her not to tell ‘anyone’, especially the president, that she was sick, Jean-Pierre admitted that wasn’t the only reason she withheld the devastating information.

‘I’m the first Black press secretary. The first person of color press secretary. The first openly queer press secretary. The first Haitian American immigrant press secretary. The first press secretary to be all of the above,’ she said.

‘Being a first meant that my responsibilities were beyond those in the job description, the load heavier. I bear a certain responsibility to the communities I represent.’

Jean-Pierre said she was conscious that she never wanted her mother’s sickness to be misconscrued as ‘an excuse’ while she was working.

Karine Jean-Pierre told very few people about her mom’s health battle, but has since revealed that the then-President was among the inner circle she had confided in

The 50-year-old would drive to New York ‘every weekend I could to see my mom’, and then returning late at night in order to catch ‘a few hours of sleep’ before returning to the White House

‘Society doesn’t allow women of color to be vulnerable at work. When you’re a first, you don’t get the benefit of the doubt,’ she said.

Her mother is now in remission, after a long and tedious battle with cancer. 

Jean-Pierre recalled one of the last times she ‘recognized [her] mother as the woman I grew up with’ – when she joined the press secretary at a state dinner with the Bidens in December 2022.

She said it was the first time post-Covid that it felt safe to host a large scale dinner, and that her mother was thrilled to be on the guest list.

Her mother told Jean-Pierre it was ‘the happiest day of my life.’   

Jean-Pierre has no regrets about dealing with her grief privately, and feels now is a good time to offer an explanation about ‘what I’ve been through, and what it’s like to come from where I come from and sit in the public eye.’

During her final press briefing of the Biden administration, Jean-Pierre spent several minutes thanking her colleagues, her family and the president, noting this was the administration’s 537th press briefing and her 306th briefing.

She said she hoped her visible, public role was an ‘inspiration to many young girls out there.’

Jean-Pierre (center with her mom and sister) recalled one of the last times she ‘recognized [her] mother as the woman I grew up with’ – when she joined the press secretary at a state dinner with the Bidens in December 2022

Jean-Pierre copped significant flak last month after Biden pardoned his son , Hunter, despite her repeated assurances he had no such plans

Jean-Pierre copped significant flak last month after Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, despite her repeated assurances he had no such plans.

But she insisted that the president was a truthful man who only reached his decision the same weekend he made the announcement.

‘First of all, one of the things that the president always believes is to be truthful to the American people,’ she said.

Jean-Pierre desperately tried to cling to an argument that Biden still had faith in the justice system even if it had let down his son. 

‘Two things could be true,’ she said. ‘The president does believe in the justice system and Department of Justice, and he also believes that his son was singled out politically.’

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in September to federal tax charges and was due to be sentenced on Dec. 16.