Obama's Emotional Tears After Trump's Election Victory Revealed in New Archive
A newly released archive of interviews has laid bare the inner workings of the Obama administration, revealing that Barack Obama shed tears when addressing senior White House staff in the wake of Donald Trump's shock election victory. Those close to the former president reveal he was surprisingly emotionally stable when Trump was declared president, but the moment came to a head during a speech to senior staff.
Emotional West Wing Scene After Election Result
'He came to speak to the senior staff,' recalled Christy Goldfuss, the managing director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. 'He got up to give a speech and he started crying and he thanked everybody and he thanks all of us for believing in him.' Jen Psaki, who served as Obama's communications director, recalled that even tough figures like Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and National Security Adviser Susan Rice were overcome with emotion.
'All these people who are so tough and smart and complete badasses... were tearing up,' Psaki recalled. This tear-stained scene in the West Wing stood in stark contrast to the mocking laughter that had filled a Washington ballroom just five years earlier at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Trump's Early Boasts and Obama's Mockery
David Axelrod, the veteran strategist behind Barack Obama's historic ascent, was weaving through the sea of tuxedos when he caught Donald Trump bragging to other attendees. 'I know it's crazy,' Trump was heard crowing, 'but I'm in front of the polls.' The real estate tycoon, years away from his own White House run, was already relishing his status as a disruptor.
As Axelrod passed by, he overheard the future president boasting about his burgeoning popularity. 'I kind of chuckled at it and went to my seat,' Axelrod said. 'I don't think any of us really anticipated that Donald Trump would be a serious candidate for president, much less president.' During the comedy portion of the evening, Obama even mocked Trump at the party.
Massive Oral History Project Reveals Administration Insights
In a massive undertaking that reveals eight years in the West Wing, a colossal new archive has been released through Columbia University's Incite Institute in partnership with the Obama Foundation. Researchers spent years capturing a staggering 1,100 hours of raw audio and video footage, creating a definitive record of the 44th President's tenure.
One thing was made abundantly clear: Obama and his team never anticipated a Trump presidency. While the project is being hailed as a significant historical collection, there are three notable absences: Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and then-Vice President Joe Biden did not participate in interviews.
Trump as 'Direct Rebuke' to Obama Era
The archive more than makes up for these silences with a star-studded roster of participants, from heavyweight diplomats to Hollywood royalty and even Republican rivals. 'The outcome of the election was a direct rebuke of everything that we had been trying to do for the last 10 years,' explained Josh Earnest, Mr. Obama's last White House press secretary.
'Trump's candidacy,' he added, 'the essence of his being and everything that he stood for and everything about the way that he carried himself and everything that he championed and his rhetoric, his campaign tactics — all were anathema to everything that the Obama campaign and the Obama era, the Obama administration, had been about.'
Early Trump Outreach and Ballroom Pitch
In a series of surreal exchanges revealed by former chief strategist David Axelrod, the future president first reached out in 2010 during the catastrophic BP oil spill. Using Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski as a middleman, Trump offered his personal services to plug the leaking Gulf of Mexico well. Axelrod, baffled by the offer, declined.
Once the oil spill was contained, Trump returned with a new obsession: the 'embarrassing' state of White House entertaining. In a phone call, Trump reportedly pitched Axelrod on preparing a custom-built Trump ballroom. He fired off his presidential campaign four years later, in June 2015.
'Nobody took it seriously at the time,' said Cody Keenan, another speechwriter for Mr. Obama. But then, against all expectations within the Obama administration, Trump won the presidency, leading to that emotional moment in the West Wing when reality set in for Obama and his team.
