Ex-Biden Spox Scolds His Old Comms Shop Boss Karine Jean-Pierre for Bailing on the Democrats: ‘Parties Are Not About One Person’

Former Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates went on the record disagreeing with his former colleague Karine Jean-Pierre’s decision to leave the Democratic Party on Monday.

In June, Jean-Pierre announced in a statement that she was leaving the party, writing that when she finished up at the White House in January, “I determined that the danger we face as a country requires freeing ourselves of boxes. We need to be willing to exercise the ability to think creatively and plan strategically.”

Jean-Pierre recently released a book in which she took swipes at the party for “betray[ing]” former President Joe Biden by forcing him out of the 2024 presidential race.

“Being independent will allow me to speak more freely, to stay true to my core beliefs,” Jean-Pierre wrote.

Bates appeared on Spectrum 1 News in Greensboro, NC, Monday where he claimed Jean-Pierre was a “friend of mine and I’m proud to have worked with her,” before publicly disagreeing with her attacks on the party.

“I disagree with the reasoning that she has has put forward for leaving the party because to me, parties are not about one person — they are about values,” Bates said. “They are about what policies we stand for. To me, I’m a Democrat because I believe everybody does better when everybody has a fair shot to realize their potential through hard work.”

Bates continued:

And I was there when the debate happened and when we were dealing with a lot of friendly fire. It’s always the most painful when it’s your friends. I was angry at that time; I know how she feels when she’s talking about that. But I also think it’s very important to remember that smart people who are working in good faith are going to have different takes on what are very complicated situations in which people are doing their best, trying to do what they think is right.

And I don’t think it makes sense to leave the party because of a disagreement about how one person was treated. And that person, Joe Biden has remained a proud Democrat, and if you looked at what is at stake now where he’s at stake now, there are important values that I know Karine cares about and I care about and everybody in the Democratic Party does that we need to make sure we’re elevating, and not thinking about one person but thinking about everybody.

Watch the clip above via Spectrum 1 News.