CNSNews.com doesn’t like new White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre any more than its Media Research Center parent does. But it was particularly annoyed by her status as the first black and LGBT press secretary — so much, in fact, that it devoted three articles in 10 days to emphasizing that fact. First was a May 6 article by Melanie Arter upon her appointment to the position, replacing Jen Psaki, headlined “Psaki: Karine Jean-Pierre Will Be First Black Woman, ‘First Out LGBTQ+’ Press Secretary ‘Because Representation Matters’”:
Psaki announced Thursday that Jean-Pierre would be the first black woman and “first out LGBTQ+” press secretary.
“So, I just want to take the opportunity to celebrate and congratulate my friend, my colleague, my partner in truth, Karine Jean-Pierre, the next White House Press Secretary. Now, many people in this room have known her for some time, but for anyone who does not know her, I want to provide a little bit of a primer for you, so settle in,” the press secretary said. “First, as you all know, she will be the first Black woman, the first out LGBTQ+ person to serve in this role, which is amazing, because representation matters, and she is going to — she will give a voice to so many, and allow — and show so many what is truly possible when you work hard and dream big, and that matters, and we should not — we should celebrate that, but I also want to make clear what all of her qualifications are, what a remarkable person is,” Psaki said.
A separate, anonymously written article that day emphasized that point even more, under the headline “Biden’s Incoming Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre: ‘I’m Gay. I Am a Mom.’”:
President Biden announced on Thursday that when White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki leaves her job on May 13 she will be replaced by current Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
In a video posted on YouTube in 2018 by Jean-Pierre’s former employer, MoveOn.org, Jean-Pierre said: “I am everything Donald Trump hates.
“I’m a black woman. I’m gay. I am a mom,” she said. “Both my parents were born in Haiti, and they came here for the American dream.”
CNS didn’t dispute that Jean-Pierre is “everything Donald Trump hates.”
When Jean-Pierre officially took over the job, Arter used a May 16 article to drive that narrative home once more, under the headline “WH Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre: ‘I am a Black, Gay, Immigrant Woman’”:
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that as a Haitian-American woman who is also a lesbian, she’s “acutely aware” that her position represents “a few firsts.”
“I am a black, gay, immigrant woman, the first of all three of those to hold this position,” Jean-Pierre said at her first press conference as press secretary, replacing Jen Psaki, who stepped down to take a job with MSNBC.
“I would not be here today if it were not for generations of barrier-breaking people before me. I stand on their shoulders. If it were not for generations of barrier-breaking people before me, I would not be here, but I benefit from their sacrifices. I have learned from their excellence, and I am forever grateful to them,” the press secretary said.
“Representation does matter. You hear us say this often in this administration, and no one understands this better than President Biden, which is why is administration is not only the most diverse in history, it is filled with barrier-breaking women and men from the vice president to cabinet secretaries, to his Supreme Court nominee to senior staff throughout this administration,” she said.
It even comes up when it’s not relevant; a July 13 article by managing editor Michael W. Chapman that is otherwise about inflation made a point of noting that Jean-Pierre is “the first black female lesbian to hold the position.”
CNS is notoriously homophobic, and its emphasis on these particular attributes of Jean-Pierre appears to be a way to otherize her for its similarly homophobic right-wing audience.