Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson Breaks With Trump, Acknowledges Biden Win

“I expect Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States,” Hutchinson said during an MSNBC appearance on Sunday, despite Trump’s continued refusal to offer a formal concession.

Hutchinson said it was “good” to see Trump tweet “he won,” in the context of again claiming the election was rigged, because, “I think that’s the start of an acknowledgment” – though Trump later denied his use of the word “won” constituted any acknowledgement of Biden’s victory, falsely claiming, “RIGGED ELECTION. WE WILL WIN!”

“It is very important that Joe Biden have access to the intelligence briefings,” Hutchinson said, noting “during times of transition our enemies have an opportunity to take advantage of us.”

Hutchinson is far from alone as a Republican calling for Trump to, if not concede, then allow Biden to receive briefings, with Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) noting “a mistake was made in 2000 to not keep both candidates informed” and citing the 9/11 commission’s finding that “that was one of the factors.”

However, Hutchinson’s acknowledgment of Biden’s victory is rare as most sitting Republican officials have closed ranks behind the president and either stood behind or stayed silent about his continued, and unfounded, claims of widespread fraud.