(AFP) – They’ve had ice cream and pizza for consolation, but Joe Biden’s decision to bow out of the US election has been hard on staff at the White House, his spokeswoman admitted Thursday.
“I’m going to be very honest, it’s been hard. It’s been very hard,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a daily briefing when asked about the mood following the 81-year-old’s historic announcement.
“It’s an emotional moment for everyone, you know, including me.”
Biden’s staff gathered with wine and pizza to watch Wednesday night’s primetime address to the nation by the president on screens a floor above the Oval Office, US media reported.
After the emotional 11-minute speech, the aging Democrat then went into the Rose Garden where there were “hundreds of staff cheering him on,” Jean-Pierre said.
“It was a beautiful, beautiful moment,” said Jean-Pierre, 49, who made history as the first Black and the first openly gay person to serve as press secretary when she was appointed in May 2022.
Speaking from the famed White House briefing room podium, she added: “He also wanted to appreciate the staff. He knows how hard it’s been, not just the past three and a half years, but certainly the past couple of weeks.”
Biden spoke “off the cuff” to thank them and talk about the “historic amount of work that we’ve been get able to get done, and what’s ahead the next six months.”
Ice cream — famously one of Biden’s favorite treats — was also served to White House staff, reports said.
The televised speech, in which Biden said it was time to “pass the torch” to a younger generation but did not delve further into his decision, was also a deeply emotional moment for the president’s family. Biden hugged family members in the Oval Office, including troubled son Hunter, and held hands with First Lady Jill Biden afterwards.
His decision, announced on X on Sunday, came with just a minute’s warning to top officials. Some staffers were left to find out his decision on social media.
With the president on his way out, many White House staff will not only be ruing the end of a one-term presidency but also seeking new employment.
“These jobs, they don’t pay all that well… it takes you away from your family, you don’t sleep as much, they are 24/7 jobs for sure,” said Jean-Pierre.
“And you do it because you believe in the work.”
The White House has however also been forced to deal with suggestions that it hid signs of aging or cognitive decline in Biden, the oldest president in US history.
Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday that there had been “no cover up.” – Danny KEMP
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