When Karine Jean-Pierre was appointed as White House press secretary, members of the chattering class were ecstatic. The first openly gay black woman had been placed in the position, a fact that was much celebrated among those who care deeply about such things.

But it did not take long for the nation to see that she wasn’t ready for the job. Relying heavily on the notes in her binders during press briefings, Jean-Pierre had an apparent difficulty fielding questions from members of the press even though the media has not exactly been very hostile toward the Biden administration.

Yet, some believe the criticism against the press secretary, along with the administration’s increasing reliance on newly-promoted White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby for briefings related to foreign affairs, is due to – you guessed it – racism.

The New York Times published a piece discussing Jean-Pierre’s tenure as press secretary, noting that “Americans are seeing less of her lately” because she has “yielded the spotlight” to Kirby since Hamas’ October 7 surprise attack on Israel.

The author spoke with several officials in the White House, most of whom understandably did not want to give their names for fear of wading into the morass of yet another racially-charged narrative.

The White House attributes Mr. Kirby’s larger role to the flurry of international news and says he will brief less often once the Middle East crisis ebbs. But the perception in Washington that President Biden has allowed Mr. Kirby, who is white, to upstage a Black woman as the face of his White House has turned their double act into a third-rail subject.

“Can’t think of many topics I’d like to opine on less,” said one Biden supporter and Democratic strategist, who deemed the subject too politically and culturally sensitive to discuss with their name attached.

Many of the White House aides, Biden political allies and White House reporters interviewed for this article requested anonymity to address the fraught balancing act between Ms. Jean-Pierre and Mr. Kirby. Some said they did so in part to avoid lending ammunition to her vitriolic critics, like the right-wing provocateur Jordan Peterson, who have explicitly tied criticism of Ms. Jean-Pierre to her race.

However, April Ryan, a longtime White House correspondent and expert race baiter, minced no words, complaining about the “white male-dominated space.”

April Ryan, a correspondent for The Grio who has covered presidents since the Clinton administration, said she found the gossip about Ms. Jean-Pierre and Mr. Kirby’s sharing of the spotlight to be “disrespectful,” noting the longstanding lack of diversity in the briefing room.

“That’s a white male-dominated space, and I’ve had my share of foolishness from that building,” said Ms. Ryan, who is Black. “I’m hypersensitive to disrespect toward Black women, because I know what that feels like and smells like.”

Ms. Ryan, who said she was friendly with both spokespeople, joked that she saw some irony in the White House’s reliance on him at the lectern. “Biden’s poll numbers have dropped in part because of foreign affairs,” she said.

Of course, folks like Ryan ignore what everyone else can see: Jean-Pierre just isn’t good at her job. In a recent example, she completely botched it when giving condolences for the three soldiers who were killed by an airstrike launched by Iran-backed militants in Jordan.

Karine Jean-Pierre gives condolences to "three folks who are military folks who are brave who are always fighting, who were fighting on behalf of this administration..." pic.twitter.com/b5ka9hMjR2

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 29, 2024

Given that this is an election year and President Biden is seeking to be reelected, it is not surprising that he would try to mix things up a bit to lessen the negative impact that Jean-Pierre’s incompetence might have on his campaign. As is typically the case when progressives race bait, this situation likely has more to do with Biden’s bid for a second term than Jean-Pierre’s race.