White House spokesman Sean Spicer ripped Hillary Clinton's claim that she would have won the 2016 election if it had been held on Oct. 27, saying she did not get to determine election dates and that it was "somewhat sad" to still be litigating why Donald Trump won.
Clinton spoke at length Tuesday in New York City about the presidential race. While she claimed to take personal responsibility for her surprising loss to Trump, she also cast blame on FBI Director James Comey's Oct. 28 letter to Congress about a renewal of her private email investigation, as well as the roles of WikiLeaks and Russian interference in the election.
Asked about her remarks, Spicer drew parallels between Trump's victory and that of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. They rallied from a 25-point deficit in the third quarter of this year's Super Bowl to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, 34-28.
"I'm a Patriots fan, and I think if games ended in the third quarter, there would have been a different team here [at the White House]," he said. "But you play a game four quarters. You play an election until Election Day, so with all due respect to her, that's not how it works. You don't get to pick the day the election's on."
Spicer said there had been "plenty of analysis" on the election and how the candidates used their resources, a veiled shot at Clinton's decision to not campaign in states like Michigan and Wisconsin that Trump flipped from blue to red.
"It's somewhat sad that we're still debating why the president won in the fashion that he did," Spicer said.
Clinton and the press are not alone in rehashing the 2016 race. Trump speaks often of his Electoral College win and recently provided White House reporters with maps showing the latest data on his victory.
The reporter pressed Spicer on whether Comey made the right decision sending his letter to Congress.
"With respect to the election, I think the American people made their decision," Spicer responded.
Comey testified Wednesday that, if he could do it over again, he would still send the letter to Congress, despite the public backlash from angry Democrats.