White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday argued Vice President Harris's election defeat was partly the result of "global headwinds" that have hampered incumbent leaders around the world.
Jean-Pierre held her first press briefing since Tuesday's election, and she was peppered with questions about whether President Biden felt any responsibility for Harris's decisive loss to President-elect Trump, or whether he had any regrets about his decision to seek reelection or to end his candidacy in late July.
"Despite all of the accomplishments that we were able to get done, there were global headwinds because of the COVID-19 pandemic," Jean-Pierre told reporters, citing supply chain issues specifically.
"And it had a political toll on many incumbents. If you look at what happened in 2024 globally. And that’s part of what you saw," she added.
The press secretary said Biden "believes he made the right decision when he decided to step aside," but she did not directly respond to questions about whether he felt any responsibility for the outcome.
"There’s going to be a lot of punditry, a lot of election experts who are going to have their opinions, who are going to have their thoughts, but the president is very, very proud of what he’s been able to accomplish and incredibly impressed with what the vice president was able to do," Jean-Pierre said.
Incumbent parties around the world have faced losses throughout the year, with opposition parties making significant gains in the United Kingdom, France, India and the European Parliament.
As Democrats unpack their defeat in Tuesday's election, which saw them lose control of the White House and the Senate, some in the party have pointed the finger at Biden.
The president dealt with low approval ratings and questions about his age for months, but was adamant he would seek reelection until late July, when he ended his candidacy and backed Harris amid pressure from top party officials.
"We dug out of a deep hole but not enough," David Plouffe, a senior adviser to the Harris campaign, posted online Wednesday. "A devastating loss. Thanks for being in the arena, all of you."
