The White House rejected any responsibility for Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss against President-elect Donald Trump, pointing to global headwinds and President Joe Biden‘s track record against the former president.
Pressed at a White House press conference on Thursday, the first since the election, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked pointedly whether Biden showed “arrogance” in believing only he could Trump, asserting that the president remains the only person to do so.
“This is the president who has been the only person who has been able to beat Donald Trump,” Karine Jean-Pierre said, shrugging her shoulders for emphasis. “That is true. In 2020 he was able to do that.”
The reporter asked if Biden should have stepped aside earlier and why he and his advisers did not make a different decision.
Reporter asks Karine Jean-Pierre about whether Biden and his team showed “arrogance of believing he was the only one who could beat Donald Trump”:
“This is the president who has been the only person has been able to beat Donald Trump.” pic.twitter.com/nptAI03ZGt
— The Recount (@therecount) November 7, 2024
Jean-Pierre responded by, effectively, pointing to the scoreboard.
“There were more than 20 candidates who tried to beat [Trump],” she said. “[Biden] was the only one that has been able to do that.”
The remarks caused some shuffling inside the White House press briefing room in the aftermath of Harris’s failed 2024 run, but Jean-Pierre was otherwise conciliatory and supportive of Harris.
Jean-Pierre said “headwinds,” including the COVID-19 pandemic, contributed to Harris’s loss, as it led to supply chain slowdowns and thus inflation.
“Obviously, COVID-19 led to disruptions with the supply chain, and it had a political toll on many incumbents,” she said. “If you look at what happened 2024 globally, that was part of what you saw.”
Karine Jean-Pierre blames “global headwinds” amid criticism that President Biden’s unpopularity is responsible for Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump.
“He believes he made the right decision when he stepped aside, decided that he wasn’t going to run.” pic.twitter.com/JS2rCOFpLc
— The Recount (@therecount) November 7, 2024
Trump supporters might posit that the pandemic was a leading factor in his loss to Biden four years ago when the virus controlled so many aspects of life. Nonetheless, Jean-Pierre defended the role of the pandemic this year as a “data point” in the 2024 outcome.
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The press secretary stressed, as Biden had earlier, that the administration was going to respect the outcome of the election and offer a smooth transition to the second Trump White House.
“The president understands that; he’s going to respect the will of the people,” she said. “That’s what he understands. He understands that the American people made a decision, and he’s going to respect that.”