President Obama told NBC News Tuesday that it is still “not clear” that the incoming commander in chief ever believed he would win the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Speaking during an Air Force One interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, Mr. Obama said he isn’t convinced, despite months of President-elect Donald Trump telling crowds that he would defeat his Democratic Party opponent — along with 306 Electoral College votes netted on Election Day.
“Tell me what happened that night, watching those results when you realized that Donald Trump was going to win,” Mr. Holt asked the president of his feelings on Nov. 8. “Was there an unvarnished Barack Obama at that moment?”
“There was just surprise,” Mr. Obama said. “Generally speaking, not just me but my team have been pretty good at seeing something coming and partly just because the polling was so off, the data was off, there was a surprise.”
Mr. Obama then mentioned Mr. Trump’s unconventional campaign before adding, “And it’s not clear that he or his team thought they were going to win.”
The billionaire repeatedly stated his belief that he would win on the campaign trail, including an Oct. 21 stop in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where he predicted “Brexit times five.”
SEE ALSO: Hillary Clinton donors still in shock over Trump win, hope to ‘wake up’ from nightmare
“We will win. We will shock the world,” Mr. Trump told the crowd. “This is going to be Brexit-plus. Brexit-plus — and a lot of people know it.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.