‘Didn’t See It Coming’: Ex-Obama Aide Recalls White House Reaction to Trump Victory

‘I Didn’t Think He’d Win’: Obama’s Ex-Press Secretary Recalls White House Dismay After Trump’s 2016 Victory.

Josh Earnest, who served as White House press secretary during Barack Obama’s second term, has opened up about the disbelief and emotional weight that settled over the West Wing following Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 presidential election.

“I did not think he was going to win,” Earnest admitted during a fireside chat at the 2025 National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) conference in Chicago.

The outcome, which defied widespread polling and predictions, left the Obama administration grappling with both the shock of the result and the responsibility of a peaceful transfer of power. “It was tough,” Earnest said. “Even as we were defending intelligence findings about Russian interference in the election, we had to prepare to hand over the nuclear codes.”

The mood among staffers was, in a word, somber. Many were visibly shaken. Earnest brought his team together to talk through the moment and re-focus on their final stretch in office. Later that day, President Obama invited the broader team into the Oval Office.

Standing beside then-Vice President Joe Biden, Obama delivered an early version of what would later become his public Rose Garden address. “We’re Americans first,” he told them. “We’re patriots first. We all want what’s best for this country.”

For many staffers, it was their first time in the Oval Office. Obama’s official photographer, Pete Souza, captured the quiet intensity of the moment. “It was very poignant,” Earnest recalled.

Reflecting on that period, Earnest said one of the most difficult parts was facing reporters while holding the administration’s line. “People were asking, ‘Did the President not mean what he said about how dangerous Trump could be?’ That was a hard message to reconcile,” he said.

Trump, not surprisingly, fired back post-election, calling Earnest a “foolish guy” for publicly defending the intelligence community’s findings on Russian meddling. Since 2018, Earnest has worked in the private sector as the chief spokesperson for United Airlines. He also briefly ventured into media commentary during Trump’s term but found the experience lacking.

“It wasn’t fulfilling,” he said. “Every segment boiled down to, ‘Isn’t this outrageous?’ and my job was just to say, ‘Yes.’ That’s not journalism—it’s performance.”