Who speaks for the president? Depends on who you ask.

On the day she was appointed the first Black and first openly gay White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre said she hoped her appointment would inspire other people who, like her, never imagined a leading role in the play political communication.

“I think it's important for them to see this,” she said in May 2022.

Americans are seeing less of her lately.

Since the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, Ms. Jean-Pierre has focused the spotlight on a lower-level official, John F. Kirby. For months, Mr. Kirby regularly co-hosted her daily briefings, often answering more questions from reporters than she did, and appeared more frequently on major political news programs as a government spokesman.

Mr. Kirby, 60, a retired Navy admiral who previously worked at the Pentagon and the State Department, is better versed in foreign affairs at a time of war in Ukraine and the Middle East. He displays a clarity and comfort at the lectern that can sometimes elude Ms. Jean-Pierre, 49, a more regular public speaker with less experience in battling a hostile press.

The White House attributes Kirby's expanded role to the abundance of international news and says he will brief less often once the Middle East crisis subsides. But the perception in Washington that President Biden has allowed Mr. Kirby, who is white, to elevate a black woman as the face of his White House has turned their double act into a third-rail issue.

“I can't think of many topics I would want to have an opinion on less,” said a Biden supporter and Democratic strategist, who found the topic too politically and culturally sensitive to discuss using their name.

Many of the White House aides, Biden political allies and White House reporters interviewed for this article requested anonymity to address the fraught balancing act between Ms. Jean-Pierre and Mr. Kirby. Some said they did so in part to prevent her from lending ammunition to her vitriolic critics, such as right-wing provocateur Jordan Peterson, who has explicitly tied criticism of Ms. Jean-Pierre to her race.

Through a spokesperson, Ms. Jean-Pierre and Mr. Kirby declined to be interviewed. Each released a statement praising the other. (Mr. Kirby: “It is a privilege to be in her company, to see her work and to learn from her.”) Jeff Zients, the White House chief of staff, said that Mr. Kirby was “greatly appreciated” and that Ms. Jean-Pierre “deftly represents the President and his agenda every day.”

Administration officials emphasized that Ms. Jean-Pierre appeared in a variety of media, including regional TV stations, Black- and Latino-focused platforms, print magazines and talk shows such as “The View.”

“A lot of reporters in the briefing room are focusing on things like who had how much time at the briefing,” said Ben LaBolt, White House communications director. “I just don't think that's the way the country consumes information. I think they see Karine, that they recognize her and know her, and that they are happy that the president has her by his side.”

Yet there are inescapable signs that Mr. Biden — facing a tough reelection campaign, low approval ratings and voter concerns about his age and health — has come to rely increasingly on people outside Ms. Jean-Pierre to deliver his message to a skeptical citizenry .

While Mr. Kirby previously only traveled internationally with Mr. Biden, he recently began accompanying the president on domestic flights so he could brief reporters even when they are not in Washington.

On Friday, a spokesman for White House counsel Ian Sams took center stage during a high-stakes televised news conference after a special counsel report cast doubt on Mr Biden's memory. Mr Sams answered difficult questions for 40 minutes; Mrs. Jean-Pierre, who spoke next, spent about half of that time at the lectern. Past press secretaries have deferred to specialist spokespersons on niche issues such as investigations and national security; Normally, however, they did not become a fixture on the White House lectern.

And Mr. Kirby's responsibilities are increasing. On Sunday, he was promoted to a new position, White House National Security Communications Advisor, which will put him in charge of communications among all executive agencies involved in national security. Ms. Jean-Pierre will remain the press secretary, although Mr. Kirby will now join her as “assistant to the president,” the highest staff title in the West Wing.

Before his appointment, Mr. Kirby had privately acknowledged, when asked, that he would like to become press secretary one day, and he has expressed frustration that Ms. Jean-Pierre had singled out the reporters who asked him questions during briefings, according to several sources. of the people interviewed for this article. Ms Jean-Pierre has said she has no plans to leave her job before the election. Some details of their private comments have previously been reported by Axios.

The situation was difficult from the start.

When Mr. Biden chose Ms. Jean-Pierre to succeed Jen Psaki, his first press secretary, in early 2022, he did so despite the misgivings of some senior aides who felt she needed more taste for the job, according to three people with knowledge of the dynamics within the West Wing.

Ms. Jean-Pierre, a daughter of Caribbean immigrants who grew up in Queens, served as the Obama White House's Northeast political director, Kamala Harris' chief of staff in the 2020 election, a spokeswoman for MoveOn.org and a political analyst on MSNBC. A White House spokesperson said her experiences were “widely accepted as unique and important qualifications” for the role of press secretary.

None of these positions, however, involved a daily barrage of combative journalists on camera, the kind of challenge that requires control over a dizzying array of topics and the verbal reflexes of an auctioneer.

Complementing Ms. Jean-Pierre, Mr. Biden elevated Mr. Kirby, then his Pentagon spokesman, to a newly created position: National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications. The opaque title obscured the fact that Mr. Kirby, who had impressed Mr. Biden during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, would share some duties with Ms. Jean-Pierre, such as briefing reporters on foreign affairs.

At a May 2022 reception on the Truman Balcony held to mark Ms. Psaki's departure, Mr. Biden spoke to a group of aides as he tried to reassure Ms. Jean-Pierre that she did not have to worry about the filling Ms. Psaki's shoes, according to two people with direct knowledge of their exchange.

Mr. Biden finally told her, “There will be an admiral looking over your shoulder.” The president's tone suggested he was trying to be encouraging, people said, but the comment landed with a thud. (A White House spokesman said the president did not make that comment.)

In the briefing room, Mrs. Jean-Pierre received a few growing pains. She often relied on talking points from her briefing folder, and some reporters grumbled that she occasionally seemed out of line; an NPR journalist asked if she had lost any credibility after falsely stating that no classified documents had been found during a search of Mr Biden's home in Delaware.

Mr. Kirby began taking a more prominent role in early 2023 when authorities identified a Chinese spy balloon hovering over the Midwest and he became the face of the White House response.

Numerous journalists who cover the White House say Mr. Kirby can be more insightful and accessible behind the scenes. Having worked in the military and government since the 1980s, he maintains deep relationships with reporters; on trips abroad he often ends the day with journalists at the hotel bar. (Administration officials said Ms. Jean-Pierre meets with a variety of journalists at her office every day.) On one recent briefing aboard Air Force One, Mr. Kirby ate his share and was returning to the president's cabin when a reporter called after him.

“He is leaving?” the reporter asked. “Admiral! Admiral!” Ms. Jean-Pierre called on Mr. Kirby to investigate Elon Musk's reported drug use, the kind of topic typically handled by a press secretary.

Brian Karem, a Salon columnist who covers the White House, called it “unusual to have two people in press for an administration.” You can't have covered presidents since Reagan, as I have, without noticing that it's strange.”

Still, Mr. Karem said he much preferred the current setup to the years under former President Donald J. Trump, whose press secretaries attacked reporters and occasionally revoked their access. One Trump press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, has not held a single briefing during her term. The Biden White House restored the tradition of holding multiple briefings per week.

“It's certainly nice to have two people with us who will actually inform us,” Mr. Karem said, “instead of one person on stage insulting us, as we had during the previous administration.”

April Ryan, a correspondent for The Grio who has covered presidents since the Clinton administration, said she found the gossip about Ms. Jean-Pierre and Mr. Kirby sharing the spotlight “disrespectful,” noting the long-standing lack of diversity in the spotlight. briefing room.

“That is a white male-dominated space, and I have had my share of silliness from that building,” said Ms. Ryan, who is black. “I am hypersensitive to disrespect towards black women because I know what that feels and smells like.”

Ms. Ryan, who said she was friends with both spokespeople, joked that she saw some irony in the White House's reliance on him at the lectern. “Biden's poll numbers are down in part because of foreign affairs,” she said.

For her part, Ms. Jean-Pierre has been open about the pressures that come with the groundbreaking nature of her role. When she was appointed to the position, she told reporters that the significance of her promotion was 'not lost on me'.

“I understand how important it is for so many people, so many different communities, that I stand on their shoulders,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. “I just appreciate this time and this moment, and I hope I make people proud.”