White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made history on Wednesday by being the first Black woman in decades and the first openly LGBTQ woman to conduct a White House briefing, although she declined to mark the occasion by calling on the LGBTQ press in the room.
Jean-Pierre, asked during the White House briefing about the significance of her conducting it, recognized the milestone but also downplayed it in favor of praising the Biden administration. “I appreciate the historic nature; I really do,” Jean-Pierre said. “But I believe that…being behind this podium, being in this room, being in this building is not about one person: It’s about what we do on behalf of the American people.