Mulvaney says Trump will ‘absolutely’ facilitate peaceful transition of power if Biden wins

Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Thursday guaranteed that President Trump would facilitate a peaceful transition of power if Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the election.

“If the process runs, and I expect it to run, and at the end of that process Joe Biden’s the president, you can absolutely guarantee a peaceful transition of power. I just hope the same is true on the other side,” Mulvaney told CNBC.

The remarks from Mulvaney, who served as chief of staff for a little over a year before leaving in March, contrast with Trump’s comments from September when he refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he were to lose his reelection bid.

“We’re going to have to see what happens, you know, but I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots. The ballots are a disaster,” Trump told reporters at a White House briefing in September when asked about committing to a potential transition of power.

When pressed, Trump said there would be no need for a transition of power without mail-in ballots.

“Get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very peaceful — there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There will be a continuation,” Trump said at the time. “The ballots are out of control. You know it, and you know who knows it better than anyone else? The Democrats know it better than anyone else.”

Following the election on Tuesday, Trump has made repeated calls to stop ballot counting as Biden cuts into his leads in Georgia and Pennsylvania.

The Trump campaign has also sued to stop ballot counting in Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania. It has also requested a recount in Wisconsin, where Biden won by about 20,000 votes. Biden is the projected winner in Michigan.

Mulvaney on Thursday also called Trump “a fighter.”

“Look, the president’s a fighter, there’s no question about it. And you’ll see him fighting down to the very last,” he said.

Updated at 12:30 p.m.