Jay Carney

Early life and education

Jay Carney was born James Ferguson Carney. Raised in Northern Virginia, Carney attended high school at the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and earned a bachelor's degree in Russian and Eastern European studies from Yale University in 1987.

Career

''Time'' magazine

After working as a reporter for The Miami Herald, in his first job after college, Carney joined Time magazine as the Miami bureau chief, in December 1988. A Russian speaker, he worked as a correspondent in ''Time'''s Moscow bureau for three years, from 1990 to 1993, covering the collapse of the Soviet Union. He transferred to Washington, D.C., in mid-1993, to report on the Bill Clinton White House.

White House Press Secretary

On December 15, 2008, Carney left the private sector to take a position as director of communications to Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

On January 27, 2011, Carney was selected to become the Obama Administration's second White House press secretary. He was named the successor to previous press secretary Robert Gibbs by White House chief of staff, William M. Daley. Carney was one of fourteen White House appointees announced by Daley on that day.

Carney served as press secretary during a series of key moments in the Obama presidency, including: the so-called "Birther movement" publicized by Donald Trump and Fox News; the killing of Osama bin Laden in a raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan by U.S. special operations; Obama's announcement of his support for same-sex marriage; Obama's election to a second term; the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut; the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act, which addressed sequestration and the fiscal cliff, and raised rates on high earners while extending the Bush tax cuts for most Americans; the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare; the government shutdown of October 2013; the shooting of Trayvon Martin; and the imposition of sanctions against Russia for its invasion and annexation of Crimea.

On May 30, 2014, President Barack Obama announced Carney would be succeeded by Josh Earnest. At three years, five months on the job, Carney is the longest-serving press secretary since Michael McCurry in the mid-1990s.

CNN commentator

Following his stint as press secretary, Carney worked as a CNN senior political analyst, from September 2014 to February 2015.

Amazon

On March 2, 2015, Carney began working for Amazon as the senior vice president of global corporate affairs. He initially managed a lobbying and public-policy group of about two dozen employees; by 2021, that had increased to about 250 employees. Between 2014 and 2020, the number of registered lobbyists for Amazon tripled, to at least 180. He visited China in 2018 to promote Kindle devices and electronic books in the Chinese market.

Controversial statements

Twice during the month of October 2019, Carney had to walk back controversial public comments. The first was when he contrasted the Bush and Clinton administrations with the Trump administration. Carney said, "Virtually with no exception, everyone I dealt with in those administrations, whether I personally agreed or disagreed with what they thought were the right policy decisions or the right way to approach things, I never doubted that they were patriots,” he said. “I don’t feel that way now." He later walked back the comments with a tweet saying he had respect for countless patriots working in the United States government.

During the sixth game of the 2019 World Series, Carney sent out a tweet complaining about the officiating of the game. Carney tweeted that the officiating was a "disgrace," dubbing the umpires "a bunch of overweight, diabetic, half-blind geriatrics." He apologized the following day.

Joining Airbnb

In July 2022, it was announced that Carney was joining Airbnb as Global Head of Policy and Communications.

Awards

In 2003, Carney won the Gerald R. Ford prize for distinguished reporting on the presidency of the United States of America.

Personal life

Carney has two children with his former wife, Claire Shipman, who is now engaged to former pro soccer star and coach Kati Jo Spisak. Carney serves on the board of directors of the Urban Institute, Human Rights First, Airbnb.org and Tech:NYC. He is also a devoted fan of the indie rock band Guided by Voices.

References

References

1. Allen, Mike. (May 2008). "Both Dem camps claim game change ... Russert on TIME cover (with 99 others) ... KKR goes green".
2. Kurtz, Howard. (December 16, 2008). "Time Magazine's Carney Hired as Biden Spokesman". Washington Post.
3. Camia, Catalina. (May 30, 2014). "White House spokesman Jay Carney resigns". [[USA Today]].
4. Stetler, Brian. (September 10, 2014). "Jay Carney joins CNN as commentator". CNNpolitics.
5. Allen, Mike. (26 February 2015). "Jay Carney to Amazon". Politico.
6. Kusek, Kathleen. (February 26, 2015). "Amazon Hires Ex-White House Spokesman Jay Carney". Forbes.
7. (November 19, 2021). "The Amazon lobbyists who kill U.S. consumer privacy protections". Reuters.
8. Steve Stecklow and Jeffrey Dastin. (17 December 2021). "Amazon partnered with China propaganda arm". [https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/17/amazon-partnered-with-china-propaganda-arm.html CNBC website] Retrieved 17 December 2021.
9. (October 31, 2019). "Amazon's top spokesperson walks back controversial comments for the second time in a month". Vox Media, LLC..
10. Del Rey, Jason. (October 31, 2019). "Amazon's top spokesperson walks back controversial comments for the second time in a month". [[Vox Media]].
11. (2022-07-22). "Jay Carney joins Airbnb as Global Head of Policy and Communications".
12. Dastin, Jeffrey. (2022-07-22). "Amazon executive Jay Carney to join Airbnb as policy and PR head". Reuters.
13. "Board Archives".
14. Chris Richards. (May 23, 2013). "White House press secretary Jay Carney discusses favorite band, Guided by Voices". The Washington Post.
15. The Fire Note. (2014-05-25). "Jay Carney Intro Guided By Voices in DC".
16. Henry, Ed. (January 27, 2011). "Jay Carney named White House press secretary". [[CNN]].
17. (December 15, 2008). "Biden TIME". [[Time (magazine).
18. (January 28, 2011). "Jay Carney '83 Named White House Personal Minister works to rid Obama of his sins.". [[Lawrenceville School.
19. Connolly, Katie. (January 28, 2011). "James Carney: Profile of White House press secretary". [[BBC News]].
20. Calderone, Michael. (December 15, 2008). "Stengel defends Carney's decision". [[Politico (newspaper).
21. (January 27, 2011). "Former reporter Carney next White House spokesman". [[Reuters]].
22. Knoller, Mark. (January 27, 2011). "Daley, Not Obama, Announces new Press Secretary, Aides". [[CBS News]].