White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre snapped at reporters when asked to explain why Biden gave a calm and upbeat message of hope to Americans after warning them for months that democracy would be in peril if Trump won.
The president yesterday promised ‘to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition’ to Donald Trump over the next two months. He was cheerful and couldn’t hide his smile.
‘We accept the choice the country made. I’ve said many times, you can’t love your country only when you win,’ he said.
‘You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree. Something I hope we can do, no matter who you voted for, you see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans.’
It was a marked shift from the stark warnings Democrats repeated throughout the campaign.
But when asked to square that shift, Jean-Pierre became flustered, biting back at reporters she accused of ‘twisting her words’.
She tried to explain that Biden simply respected the election result – with the veiled allusion to Trump’s refusal to accept he lost in 2020.
‘The American people made the decision. There was an election two nights ago… And it was a free and fair election. And we respect the election process,’ she said.
‘And Americans spoke. And so the job of the president is to make sure we respect that. The job of the president is to make sure that we have a peaceful transfer of power. That is what the American people deserve.’
‘The president wants to lead by example. It’s not complicated. It really isn’t. And, you know, that’s important.’
Jean-Pierre grew more frustrated when asked what Americans who were afraid of what Trump would do, based on Biden and Kamala Harris’ warnings, should think about the president’s change in tone.
‘Well, now you’re just twisting everything around, and that’s really unfair… because I’ve been standing here trying to be very respectful to what happened… two nights ago,’ she said.
‘I’ve been standing here saying that we respect the decision that the American people made. I’ve been standing here and saying that the president’s going to put the American people first.’
Jean-Pierre then lost her cool and accused sections of the press of twisting her words, before abruptly ending the Q&A.
‘I do not appreciate having my words twisted… I’ve been very clear, very, very, very clear about what the president wants to do, and the vice president,’ she said.
We want to make sure that we deliver for the American people. They deserve a peaceful transfer of power. And that’s what you’re going to see.’
Jean-Pierre was also repeatedly asked if Biden regretted exiting the presidential race and if the president played any role in Harris’ defeat.
She fumbled in her responses and used ‘uh’ repeatedly as she searched for answers.
‘President Biden believes that he made the right decision when he decided to step aside — uh — and — uh — immediately endorsed the vice president and you saw the party come behind her, support her, and he believed it was the right thing for the American people,’ she said.
‘He put himself aside. This was not about him. This is about what was right for the American people, and that’s what he believes. He believes it was the right decision to make. He’s very incredibly proud.’
Democrats are still reeling for Harris’ loss to Trump, and the blame game has begun about who is at fault.
Harris aides are putting the blame on Biden for not doing enough to fight inflation, for his many verbal fumbles and for not dropping out of the race sooner. He’s being described as the 81-year-old albatross hanging around her neck.
Others blame Harris herself: she didn’t separate herself enough from Biden during the campaign, there was infighting among her staff, she exaggerated her numbers, she didn’t.
Jean-Pierre side-stepped any questions about whether Biden is to blame or if he had any regrets about exiting the presidential race.
‘The president understands that he’s going to respect the will of the people. That’s what he understands. He understands that the American people made a decision and he’s going to respect that,’ she said.
And when she was asked if Biden has any regrets, she said: ‘The president is very proud of what he was able to accomplish.
‘He was very proud and when he made that decision to hand over the torch — to hand over the torch, pass the torch to the Vice President, he believed it was the right decision to make at that time.
‘Uh — he believed that she was ready. She was ready to lead on day one and has been very proud in what he’s been able to deliver.’
She repeatedly pointed out Biden still has 74 days in office.
And she pushed back when asked about Biden being blamed for the defeat.
‘There’s going to be a lot of people who are going to say a lot of things. There’s going to be election experts who are going to look under the hood in the next couple of days and weeks and months as I’ve said already, and they’re going to have their opinion on this race,’ she said.
Earlier Thursday, President Biden promised to work with Trump to secure a peaceful transition and urged the country to come together an as he broke his silence on the election.
‘I will do my duty as president. I’ll fulfill my oath, and I will honor the Constitution. On January 20, we’ll have a peaceful transfer of power here in America,’ Biden said.
He did not discuss why Harris may have lost. He also didn’t respond to shouted questions from reporters on the race.
The 81-year-old commander-in-chief, however, spoke with a smile from the White House Rose Garden on Thursday afternoon in his first public appearance since Trump’s landslide win in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The outgoing president was noticeably more relaxed than he had appeared amid the campaign as he told the nation to be positive and accept the devastating results for Democrats, while noting that Harris ran an ‘inspiring campaign’.
Biden walked out of the Oval Office to applause from a crowd including cabinet members, staff and his granddaughter Finnegan and jogged to the podium.
As he wrapped up his remarks, he blew a kiss to the audience and insisted his administration should be proud of its record.
‘I know it’s a difficult time. You’re hurting. I hear you and I see you,’ Biden said.
‘A country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country makes.
‘You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree, Biden said.
‘A defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. But we can get back up’ he added.
The president watched the results come in with family and close friends at the White House late on Tuesday evening, sitting in the residence as Republicans took control of the White House and the Senate.
Control of the House of Representatives has yet to be determined.
Biden called both Harris and Trump on Wednesday. He’s also called Democrats who have won election to the House and Senate.
He congratulated Harris on her historic campaign, and invited President-elect Trump to meet with him in the White House.
He expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition to power.
But he had his own warning for the president-elect, telling him about ‘the importance of working to bring the country together.’
Biden will attend Trump’s inauguration. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, before the election, said Biden would attend it for whoever won the presidency.
It’s now Biden’s legacy on the line as the president bracketed by Trump’s terms.
‘Don’t forget all that we accomplished,’ he said on Thursday. ‘It’s been a historic presidency.’
He argued many of this accomplishments – such as his infrastructure plan – will not be felt by the public for years.
He also pushed back at voter anger about the economy.
‘We’re leaving behind the strongest economy in the world. I know people are still hurting but things are changing rapidly,’ he said.
He and his team will likely spend the three months leading up to Inauguration Day trying to shore up as many as their initiatives as they can – securing more funding for Ukraine, pushing for a ceasefire in the Middle East, and doing what they can to protect federal workers, who Trump has vowed to target.