White House staffers received a pep talk Monday morning, 20 hours after President Joe Biden dramatically dropped out of the presidential race, but failed to acknowledge their frustrations at learning the news along with the American public.
Chief of Staff Jeff Zients had a six-minute phone call with his staff that one White House official described as a “laughable” conversation.
Zients praised the administration’s achievements so far and told staff there was still work to be done, according to a recording obtained by DailyMail.com.
But he did not acknowledge that staff were not informed about Biden’s decision.
Biden on Sunday called off his 2024 re-election bid with an announcement on Day X, taking most White House advisers and his campaign staff by surprise.
On the call, Zients is heard telling White House aides that Sunday was a “momentous day” and that the Biden administration would be remembered “as one of the most effective and consequential presidencies in American history.”
He said that beyond what the 81-year-old leader said on social media Sunday, Biden’s message to staff was that there was more work to do.
Chief of Staff Jeff Zients gave a pep talk to the entire White House staff during a 10 a.m. call Monday, 20 hours after President Joe Biden dramatically dropped out of the presidential race.
President Joe Biden was last seen in public on Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after testing positive for COVID-19. He is in isolation at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
“Every time I meet with the president, and particularly in the last 24 hours, he always emphasizes how much more work we have to do to finish the job,” Zients said.
Biden has been recovering from COVID-19 at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, since testing positive while on the campaign trail in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Only a handful of senior staffers had been alerted before Sunday’s announcement: Biden would drop out of the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place as the Democratic nominee.
Zients made it clear that this was an official White House call, which meant he was prohibited from speaking about the campaign due to the Hatch Act.
“The White House counsel said if there’s one thing I can’t talk about it’s the next POTUS, whoever that may be,” Zients joked.
“I can say that the president has made his position clear on his future and I will let him speak for himself and just thank Vice President Harris for her extraordinary leadership for three and a half years,” the chief of staff added.
An aide told DailyMail.com on Sunday afternoon that they were feeling “relieved.” “Most employees feel a mix of relief, gratitude and hope,” the source said.
President Joe Biden shared the letter on social media on Sunday, which is how most of his White House staff and campaign learned of his decision to cancel his 2024 reelection bid.
Staffers seen at the White House on Monday seemed resigned to the whole situation.
Zients reiterated several times during the call that the White House staff must remain a team.
“We have to do what this team does so well, which is execute and get results,” he said at one point. “It’s important that we stick together as a team to get that done.”
At another point in the call he said, “And I love, I love, I love teamwork.”
“Everyone with their heads down, arms linked, getting the job done and supporting each other,” Zients said.
He encouraged attendees to “really focus on extraordinary execution over the next six months on behalf of the American people.”
As he said, they needed to “go over this together and finish this work.”