Karine Jean-Pierre Leaves MoveOn to Join the Biden Team

Karine Jean-Pierre, a Haitian-American political campaign organizer, activist and adviser, has joined Joe Biden’s presidential campaign as a senior adviser after serving as chief public affairs officer for MoveOn.org and as an NBC and MSNBC political analyst.

The networks said that Jean-Pierre is no longer a contributor following her new campaign post, where she will focus on engagement with communities, including with African American and women voters.

“I am thrilled to announce that I will be joining the Biden campaign as a senior adviser,” she wrote on Twitter. “This is the most important general election in generations and I just could not sit this election out.”

MoveOn said that she would be taking a leave of absence to join the Biden campaign’s senior leadership. “A great sign about the direction of the campaign,” the organization said on Twitter. 

Jean-Pierre is the author of “Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of America”. She also was deputy campaign manager for Martin O’Malley’s 2016 presidential bid, served in the Obama White House as regional political director in the office of political affairs, and worked on President Barack Obama’s 2012 and 2008 presidential campaigns.

In June, at a MoveOn forum, a demonstrator stormed the stage as Jean-Pierre spoke with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), then running for president. The man took the mic from Harris, but Jean-Pierre put herself between him and the candidate before security escorted him out.

“It was a scary moment,” Jean-Pierre said afterward. “At the time, I wasn’t thinking that.” She said that she was thinking of the Virginia Beach shooting massacre and the increase in white supremacy hate crimes. “I was thinking, what is going on? And I just acted,” she said.