John Bolton tells GOP leaders to 'explain to voters' that Donald Trump lost the election as president calls him 'dumb' and Asa Hutchinson becomes sixth sitting Republican governor to acknowledge Joe Biden won
John Bolton asserted Sunday that Republicans need to explain to their voters that Joe Biden did win the presidency as Donald Trump continues to undermine election integrity and claim it was 'rigged'.
'Well, I think it's very important for leaders of the Republican Party to explain to our voters, who are not as stupid as the Democrats think, that in fact Trump has lost the election and his claims of election fraud are baseless,' Bolton told ABC News.
'The fact is that we've seen litigation in all the key battleground states and it has failed consistently,' Bolton continued in his interview on 'This Week'. 'I think as every day goes by, it's clearer and clearer there isn't any evidence. But if the Republican voters are only hearing Donald Trump's misrepresentations, it's not surprising that they believe it.'
Trump lashed out at his former national security adviser on Twitter following the interview.
'John Bolton was one of the dumbest people in government that I've had the 'pleasure' to work with,' the president quipped. 'A sullen, dull and quiet guy, he added nothing to National Security except, 'Gee, let's go to war.' Also, illegally released much Classified Information. A real dope!'
Bolton's comments came as Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson broke with Trump, claiming the president should concede to Joe Biden and allow him to begin the transition process.
'I expect Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States,' Hutchinson told NBC News' Chuck Todd during an interview on 'Meet the Press' Sunday morning.
John Bolton said Sunday that Republicans need to 'explain to our voters' that Joe Biden won the election
Trump lashed out at his former National Security Advisor after his interview with ABC News Sunday morning, claiming Bolton is 'dumb' and a 'real dope'
With this, Hutchison became the sixth Republican governor to acknowledge that Trump lost the election and Biden won – while many other Republicans have either stayed silent on the matter or lined up behind the president.
Only five Republican senators and ten GOP House members have outright acknowledged Biden as the president-elect.
Hutchinson added in his interview, 'It was good, actually, to see President Trump tweet out that he won. I think that's a start of an acknowledgement. '
He was referencing Trump's tweet Sunday morning where it appeared he was conceding that Biden had won when he wrote: 'He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn't even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more!'
However, an hour after the tweet was posted, Trump clarified that his use of the word 'won' did not constitute any acknowledgement of Biden's victory.
Arkansas' Asa Hutchinson became the sixth sitting Republican governor to acknowledge Joe Biden won the election. 'I expect Biden to be the next president of the United States,' he said
Hutchinson said it was 'good' to see Trump 'tweet out that he [Biden] won' – but his comments came before the president walked back on that post
Instead, he tweeted: 'RIGGED ELECTION. WE WILL WIN!'
Hutchinson also said Thursday that Trump's administration should sign off to allow the transition to commence, particularly in regards to Biden receiving the daily intelligence briefings so he will become privy to hearing classified information related to the U.S. relationship with other countries.
'It is very important that Joe Biden have access to the intelligence briefings to make sure that he is prepared,' Hutchinson said. 'During times of transition, our enemies have an opportunity to try to take advantage of us, and we want to make sure that there is a smooth transition.'
He also said starting the transition is important when it comes to vaccine distribution as pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced last week it created a coronavirus vaccine that is 90 per cent effective, according to trials.
Hutchinson says it's important 'everybody understands what we're doing there and what the plan is for the future' in regards to handling the coronavirus pandemic.
The Arkansas governor is joining the ranks of several other Republicans calling for Biden to receive the daily briefings from the intelligence community – the same briefings Trump currently hears.
The General Services Administration Administrator Emily Murphy has refused to ascertain the election for Biden, meaning he cannot yet begin the proper transition process, including receiving the briefings.
President Trump tweeted for the first time Sunday that Biden won the election more than week after it was called for the Democrat by most major media outlets
He clarified in a tweet sent an hour later that he was not 'conceding' to Biden and that he 'only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA'
Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma noted that 'a mistake was made in 2000 to not keep both candidates informed' as it was figured out who won the election as a Florida recount commenced.
Lankford and several other Republicans also began calling on Thursday for Biden to receive the daily intelligence briefing.
Other Republicans who joined in Lankford's sentiment last week were the longest-serving Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, who serves as President Pro Tempore; Senate Majority Whip John Thune; Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham; and Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy disagrees, saying it's fine to wait until the true victor is known before giving Biden the briefings.
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