As Democrats reckon with Donald Trump's epic re-election victory, the Obamas are coping with their party's devastating defeat by blaming global economic forces.
Frustration with inflation and an overrun southern border were some of the factors that drove Trump's shocking comeback, while many have interpreted the results more broadly as a repudiation of Barack Obama's liberal vision for the country.
In their first public reaction to the election results, Barack and Michelle Obama pointed the finger at an economic funk lingering from the COVID pandemic, rather than any mistakes by the Democratic party.
The Obamas had both stumped for vice president Kamala Harris, blasting Trump as a selfish billionaire who is unfit for office. Their rhetoric was highly personal, with Barack Obama bitterly accusing Trump of stealing credit for economic prosperity that Obama said he created.
In the end, voters ignored smears and hyperbole painting Trump as a dictator and sent him back to Washington with a mandate. Trump won a decisive victory, sweeping the battleground states and putting himself on track to win the popular vote.
In Illinois, the reliably Democratic state where Obama launched his career in politics, Trump came within a stunning eight points of victory.
Trump made especially strong gains with young, black, and Hispanic men after Barack Obama had scolded black men who find Trump appealing.
In a statement congratulating Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance, the Obamas briefly offered up their diagnosis for why Harris collapsed.
They absolved Democrats of any responsibility for voters' woes, blaming global economic conditions for driving a backlash against "democratic incumbents" around the world.
America is not "immune" to forces working against democracy, they added, more or less implying that Trump is an authoritarian figure who benefited from the public's anger.
“America has been through a lot over the last few years — from a historic pandemic and price hikes resulting from the pandemic, to rapid change and the feeling a lot of folks have that, no matter how hard they work, treading water is the best they can do,” the Obamas said.
“Those conditions have created headwinds for democratic incumbents around the world, and last night showed that America is not immune."
Harris finally conceded defeat Wednesday, waiting hours after Trump's victory became clear in the early morning. In a defiant statement, Harris took pointed jabs at President Trump over his alleged refusal to honor a peaceful transfer of power in 2021.
