The legacy media generally love to report on perceived palace intrigue and betrayal, unless the intrigue happens within a Democrat White House. Then, it’s all quiet on the Leftern Front. NBC’s reporting on the new book by former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is the exception.
NBC Nightly News was the only evening legacy newscast to cover Jean-Pierre’s new book and party switch. Here is that reporting:
NBC News was the only one of the network nightlies to report on Karine Jean-Pierre's book-and-switch. Brutally so, by legacy media standards. pic.twitter.com/lFOfWa6YgW
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) June 5, 2025
GABE GUTIERREZ: Meanwhile, Democrats are facing their own deep divisions. Today, former President Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced she was leaving the Democratic Party to register as an independent. Promoting her new book, promising a look inside a broken White House, even though she repeatedly defended the administration for years.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: He is as sharp as ever. As I have known him to be.
GUTIERREZ: At this moment, is the President leading?
JEAN-PIERRE: The president is the President of the United States, and he is leading.
GUTIERREZ: It comes amid new scrutiny of Biden’s mental acuity while in office. Now, the book will examine the quote, “betrayal by the Democratic Party” that led to him dropping out of the race.
JEAN-PIERRE: I think we need to stop thinking in boxes, and think outside of our boxes. And not be so partisan.
This report was embedded within Gutierrez’ coverage of Elon Musk’s efforts against the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” ABC did that story, as well, and it is understandable that they’d do so. To have President Trump’s most prominent supporter and collaborator turn on the administration’s top legislative priority is like crack to the legacy media. OF COURSE they are going to cover it and dwell on palace intrigue and speculative, unsourced breakup rumors.
The harder part is to report on whatever it is that Jean-Pierre thinks she is going to accomplish with this book. Neither ABC nor CBS covered Jean-Pierre’s book. NBC’s brief was unsparing in that Gutierrez included clips of moments where Jean-Pierre was fighting for President Biden’s mental acuity to the bitter end, even after the disastrous June debate with President Trump.
The clips suggest that Jean-Pierre is not going to get the same kind of grace from the media that Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson got for writing about Biden’s decline. Jean-Pierre stood on that White House podium and told the world that she could barely keep up with the president. And now, not only does she publish a book on the process but she leaves the Democrat Party.
Jean-Pierre stands out as a poster child for the kind of shamelessness that people expect to see out of Washington. Credit to NBC News for briefly exposing that to their viewers- unlike CBS and ABC.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on the NBC Nightly News on Wednesday, June 4th, 2025:
TOM LLAMAS: Now to the growing rift between Elon Musk and President Trump. Musk ripping into what the president calls his “Big Beautiful Bill” over the amount of spending in it. Musk now demanding lawmakers, quote, “kill the bill”. Here’s Gabe Gutierrez.
GABE GUTIERREZ: Tonight, just days after this soaring sendoff from the Oval Office --
ELON MUSK: I expect to remain a friend and an adviser.
GUTIERREZ: Elon Musk is threatening to blow up President Trump's signature legislation, his “Big Beautiful Bill”. The tech titan and top Trump ally now posting, “Call your Senator. Call your Congressman. Kill the bill.”
JOHN KENNEDY: He’s frustrated. I think he believes, in my judgment correctly, that we are quickly becoming debt slaves.
GUTIERREZ: Musk opening a rift among Republican, urging any lawmaker who supports the bill to be fired. The House Speaker, stunned.
JOHNSON: We were texting one another, you know, happy text- you know, Monday. 24 hours later, he doesn't (UNINT) and he comes out and opposed the bill. It surprised me, frankly.
GUTIERREZ: The bill would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, eliminate taxes on tips and overtime, and spend billions on border security. Plus, it imposes new work requirements to get Medicaid.
DONALD TRUMP: I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled about other aspects of it. Tremendous amounts of benefit are going to the middle income people of our country.
GUTIERREZ: But Musk has slammed the bill over its spending.
ELON Musk: I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit -- not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.
GUTIERREZ: The congressional budget office projecting it would increase the budget deficit $2.4 trillion over a decade. But the bill's supporters argue that agency has gotten projections wrong before. And that Musk’s opposition won’t sway support in the Senate.
KEVIN CRAMER: I know he is a glamorous sort of celebrity but he’s not a big factor.
GUTIERREZ: Meanwhile, Democrats are facing their own deep divisions. Today, former President Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced she was leaving the Democratic Party to register as an independent. Promoting her new book, promising a look inside a broken White House, even though she repeatedly defended the administration for years.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: He is as sharp as ever. As I have known him to be.
GUTIERREZ: At this moment, is the President leading?
JEAN-PIERRE: The president is the President of the United States, and he is leading.
GUTIERREZ: It comes amid new scrutiny of Biden’s mental acuity while in office. Now, the book will examine the quote, “betrayal by the Democratic Party” that led to him dropping out of the race.
JEAN-PIERRE: I think we need to stop thinking in boxes, and think outside of our boxes. And not be so partisan.
LLAMAS: Big news for Democrats. But Gabe, let's go back to that escalating feud over the president's so-called Big Beautiful Bill. The president is getting even more involved in those negotiations?
GUTIERREZ: Yes, Tom, just a short time ago a group of Republican senators met with the president here at The White House to discuss how to muscle this bill through. The stakes are incredibly high for the Trump agenda and the president knows it. As the Senate Majority Leader just said, “failure is not an option”. Tom?
LLAMAS: All right, Gabe Gutierrez at The White House. Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker joins us now live in studio. So great to see you, Kristen.
KRISTEN WELKER: Great to see you.
LLAMAS: I know you have new reporting tonight for our viewers. Take us into The White House. What are they saying over what Musk is doing?
WELKER: Well, Tom, a senior White House official says while they were caught off guard, they weren’t entirely surprised by Musk’s increasing attacks on the so- called “Big Beautiful Bill”. And a source telling me people in the president's orbit are furious about Musk's posts, including where he said lawmakers should be fired for voting for the bill, calling it a betrayal, saying it suggests Musk is open to funding Democratic campaigns, Tom.
LLAMAS: And Musk calls himself The DOGEfather, and The White House believes that this is not personal, it’s just business?
WELKER: That’s right. Sources say that The White House believes Musk’s motivation was in part business, saying Musk is upset an electric vehicle tax credit was taken out of the bill that would’ve helped Tesla. 2 sources familiar with the matter saying Musk had personally lobbied to keep it in. One administration source tells us that while Musk speaks for his company, the president speaks for his country. All of this, Tom, could jeopardize the Republican goal of having this pass by July 4th.
LLAMAS: Kristen Welker with that fresh reporting tonight. Kristen, great to have you here.