Stephen Colbert cautions Karine Jean-Pierre not to slam Dems too hard

In an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday, former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that her new book, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines, provides a "road map" to move away from the two-party system that exists in the US. Colbert said that becoming independent would do nothing to help things.

"Do you recommend everyone leave the party, and if so, where do they go? Because organization is how you face tyranny. Freelancing isn’t going to get anybody anything done," said Colbert.

Jean-Pierre said she wasn’t telling everyone to become independents, but instead, "I’m trying to start a conversation. I’m not saying that we need a third party, I am saying that right now, the two-party system is not working."

When asked about the feelings of dissatisfaction Democrats have with party leadership, Jean-Pierre said, "well right now, in this moment, which is why I actually wrote the book, to give people a road map, I don't think there's any teeth, there's no fight, there's no—where's the soul?"

She said that becoming a private citizen after the end of the Biden administration "created for me, an opportunity as a private citizen now to say, ‘Okay, how do we focus on where we are today? How do we move forward? And what's a road map that people can follow to get engaged?’ I think it's really important to get involved and to get engaged, and that's what this book is about."

Jean-Pierre announced in June that she had left the Democrat party, explaining at the time, "I think we need to stop thinking in boxes and think outside of our boxes and not be so partisan," she said. "The way that I see moving forward in this space that we're in right now is if you are willing to stand side by side with me, regardless of how you identify politically - and as long as you respect the community that I belong to and vulnerable communities that I respect - I will be there with you. I will move forward with you."