President Joe Biden declared himself a man for unity in his inaugural address, but he was partisan in his congratulatory calls after Tuesday's elections.
Virginia GOP Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin pulled off a shocker that did not warrant a call from the president, while New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, both Democrats, won in blue strongholds and received a call from Biden, the New York Daily News reported.
''They have not spoken,'' White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at Thursday's daily press briefing.
It was a courtesy Biden did extend to Adams and Murphy in New York and New Jersey — two traditionally blue states, albeit ones that did not flip in elections this week.
''Obviously, the president campaigned for his friend, Terry McAuliffe,'' Jean-Pierre added at the briefing, ''and would have preferred a different outcome. But the will of the people is clear, and the president has always believed in working across party lines for the good of American families.
''He looks forward to doing that with Gov.-elect Youngkin.''
Jean-Pierre also downplayed the Virginia gubernatorial result being a bellwether for the 2022 midterms.
''No election determines the outcome of future elections,'' she demurred.
''This one election is determined by voters in 2021, and the midterms are still a year away.''
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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