Meeting of Clinton, Trump Aides Turned Nasty Fast

The post-election forum at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government has traditionally been a respectful meeting of rival campaign strategists. This year, it's a miracle they didn't start throwing chairs. The forum turned into a shouting match as six Hillary Clinton aides and six Donald Trump aides sitting across from each other clashed over issues including the alt-right, Clinton's emails, and even who the real winner was. ABC News reports that Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook riled the Trump side by reminding them that Clinton won the popular vote. "Hey guys, we won—there's no need to respond," Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told her fellow strategists. "He was the better candidate—he won."

The words "we won" were heard quite a few times during the discussion, Politico notes. "You guys are bitter," Conway said after being accused of running a campaign where white supremacists had a platform. "Hashtag he's your president. How's that? Will you ever accept the election results?" The Clinton team admitted some mistakes, but it largely blamed the loss on "headwinds." In what the Washington Post describes as one of the Trump team's strangest criticisms, former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said the media had blundered by taking Trump's words too literally. The American people "understood that sometimes—when you have a conversation with people, whether it's around the dinner table or at a bar—you're going to say things, and sometimes you don't have all the facts to back it up," he said. (Trump launched his victory tour in Cincinnati Thursday night.)