Karine Jean-Pierre shakes off pre-speech jitters with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé!
The White House press secretary revealed her routine while preparing for a big day. This includes taking a few minutes to look over her notes, eating a mint, making sure her hair and makeup are on point — and even dancing!
Jean-Pierre shared that before her very first White House press briefing, Jen Psaki played the Beyoncé song "Run the World (Girls)" to help pump her up. It's since become a pre-briefing tradition.
"It’s always a woman. It’s either Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, or Rihanna. I love Missy Elliot, as well," she said of her current playlist, which also features "Texas Hold 'Em" and "Energy" by Beyoncé and "Lavender Haze" by Swift. "And then I’ll do a little dance. I love to dance."
Aside from a killer song list, Jean-Pierre also clarified, "Confidence actually helps me tremendously in delivering at the podium."
"In this job, I think it’s very, very important to make sure you have that confidence to get it done and move forward," she added.
However, the 49-year-old wasn't always brimming with boldness in front of a crowd. "I was an incredibly shy kid who sat in the corner and kept her mouth shut," she explained. "I had to work on it."
Jean-Pierre is not only the first Black person to hold the position of White House press secretary, she is also the first openly LGBTQ+ person to helm the role.
"I have to change the perspective of what a White House press secretary looks like," she continued. "I try to honor the past but also know that every time I step to that podium, I am hopefully changing hearts and minds, and hopefully making something look more normal, and hopefully making progress for the generation that comes after me."
Prior to her work as press secretary, she was a member of Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008 and later served as regional political director for the White House Office of Political Affairs.
During President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign, she served as senior advisor. She was officially appointed White House press secretary in May 2022.
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Jean-Pierre spoke to Women's Health about her pre-speech routine.