Obama’s former press secretary recalls ‘emotional’ mood in White House after Trump win

Josh Earnest says president brought staff into Oval Office to hear address stressing national unity: It was very poignant'

The hardest day on the job for the White House press secretary for most of Barack Obama's second term was right after Donald Trump was first elected president, he recently revealed during a fireside chat at a journalism convention.

Speaking at the 2025 National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) conference in Chicago, Josh Earnest said it was grueling for the Obama administration to realize it would have to follow through on promises of a peaceful transfer of power despite spending the 2016 election cycle offering dire warnings about what could or would happen if Donald Trump were given the keys to the Oval Office".