Obama’s Former Press Secretary Reflects on Team’s Mood After Trump’s 2016 Win

‘Didn’t Think He’d Win’: Josh Earnest Recalls White House Mood After Trump’s 2016 Victory.

Josh Earnest, former White House press secretary under Barack Obama, has opened up about the emotional fallout in the West Wing following Donald Trump’s unexpected 2016 election win — describing the atmosphere as “somber” and filled with disbelief.

Speaking at the 2025 National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) conference in Chicago, Earnest recalled how stunned the Obama administration was by the outcome. “I did not think he was going to win,” he admitted during a candid fireside chat.

Despite months of warnings about the potential dangers of a Trump presidency — particularly in light of intelligence findings that Russia had interfered in the election — the administration still had to prepare for a peaceful transition of power.

“We had to defend those intelligence reports and at the same time prepare to hand over the nuclear codes,” Earnest said. “It was a tough message. People were asking, ‘Did [Obama] not mean how dangerous [Trump] could be?’”

In the hours after the result, many White House staffers were visibly shaken. Earnest gathered his team to process the news and refocus on the administration’s final weeks in office. President Obama, aware of the staff’s morale, called them into the Oval Office later that day.

Standing beside then-Vice President Joe Biden and speaking from behind the Resolute Desk, Obama delivered an early version of the speech he would give publicly from the Rose Garden.

“We have to remember that we’re actually all on one team,” Obama told them. “We’re Americans first. We’re patriots first. We all want what’s best for this country.”

For many in the room — including staff who had never been in the Oval Office before — the moment was deeply emotional. Obama’s photographer, Pete Souza, captured it. “It was very poignant,” Earnest said.

Trump, for his part, responded harshly to Earnest after the election, labeling him a “foolish guy” for publicly backing the intelligence reports on Russian interference.

Earnest later stepped away from politics and, since 2018, has served as chief spokesperson for United Airlines. Reflecting on his brief stint as a political commentator during Trump’s presidency, he admitted it left him unfulfilled.

“The questions could all be boiled down to, ‘Isn’t this outrageous what Trump is doing?’” he said. “It became about finding different ways to say, ‘Yes.’ I wasn’t doing journalism. I was doing commentary. And it was pretty close to entertainment.”