Karine Jean-Pierre slams Karoline Leavitt’s ‘deplorable’ behavior as White House Press Secretary

Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre shared her thoughts after her successor Karoline Leavitt’s recent remarks.

You can add Karine Jean-Pierre to the list of those who are less than amused by the recent antics of her successor, Karoline Leavitt.

During an appearance on “The View” on Tuesday, October 22, the 51-year-old former White House press secretary, who served during the Biden administration, shared her thoughts on Leavitt’s recent remarks about Democrats and her behavior toward the media.

“It’s deplorable,” Jean-Pierre said after the hosts played a clip of Leavitt claiming the Democratic Party is made up of “Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals,” and showed a screenshot of her exchange with a reporter where she made a “Yo Mama” joke.

“[The Trump White House doesn’t] seem to understand that they don’t work for just one man,” Jean-Pierre continued. “They work for the American people. It is about coming together, about common good. The White House press secretary is not about doing online trolling.”

She went on to stress the gravity of the role, adding, “It is an honor and a privilege to have that job and to speak on behalf of the most powerful person in the world.”

“There is a level of respect for the freedom of the press, right, even if you disagree with them,” she said. “That is what that whole back and forth when you see in the press briefing room is about. It shows that we believe in democracy. It shows the world, not just here, but the world that the press is going to do what they need to do to hold us accountable, and we’re going to do what we need to do to communicate to the American people about what we’re doing.”

Jean-Pierre, who made history in 2022 as the first Black and openly LGBTQ person to serve as White House press secretary, held the position from May 2022 until the end of the Biden administration in January 2025. Since stepping into the role earlier this year, as the youngest at 27, Leavitt, now 28, has drawn criticism for her combative, unorthodox style of handling the media. 

While on “The View,” Jean-Pierre said that behavior “doesn’t help with the partisanship that we’re seeing right now” and “is not what the White House is supposed to be about.”

“It’s supposed to be about every American person, every voter, every citizen, everyone that lives in the country,” she added.