Josh Earnest: 'I don't have an explanation' for why so many Obama voters switched to Trump

The outcome of the presidential election was certainly a surprise, but White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest is apparently dumbfounded by the fact that so many voters who supported President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 switched to President-elect Donald Trump this go around.

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Trump pierced through Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's so-called "blue wall," earning victories in Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania — states the Clinton camp expected to carry, given Obama's previous successes there.

"There are a lot of people who voted for Barack Obama in 2008, who voted for his re-election in 2012, and voted for Donald Trump in 2016," Earnest bemoaned during a press conference Wednesday. After a long pause, he admitted, "And, I think it's — I don't have an explanation for that."

NOW: Josh Earnest: "There are a lot of people who voted for Obama who voted for Trump in 2016... I don't have an explanation for that" pic.twitter.com/ur1OwvZSU1

— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 9, 2016

Apparently for voters, the desire for change — even from the change they sought in Obama — greatly outweighed the concerns many harbored about Trump's shortcomings.

But as surprised as Earnest may be, the stunning Trump victory was not so shocking to the GOP nominee's campaign CEO, Steve Bannon, a former executive at Breitbart News, who said Wednesday morning he is "sorry" he "didn’t get a chance to see the media meltdown."

"My analogy to the British exit — to the Brexit movement — was really what the exit polls showed about people’s desire for change. Real change — not the kind that gets talked about on cable TV," he said during an interview on Breitbart News Daily.

In addition, not that the numbers are particularly impressive, but it is worth noting that Trump also bested 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney when it came to the Hispanic and black vote, which is surprising given he was predicted to wipe out the gains the former Massachusetts governor had made with minorities.

According to CNN exit polls, Trump earned 8 percent of the black vote to Romney's 7 percent and he garnered 29 percent of the Hispanic vote to Romney's 27 percent.

That was also probably a surprise to Earnest.