Mitch McConnell insists there will 'of course' be a peaceful transfer of power, breaking with Trump who would not commit to one

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell assured there will be a peaceful transfer of power between the Trump and Biden administrations.
• McConnell's assurance comes weeks after President Donald Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, sounding alarms.
• Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted on Friday that there will be a peaceful transfer of power between President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden's administrations.

Biden won the 2020 presidential election, according to Decision Desk HQ, and is preparing to be the country's 46th president.

Before the final weeks of the presidential race, Trump in September refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

"Win, lose, or draw in this election, will you commit here today for a peaceful transferal of power after the election?" a reporter asked him.

"We'll have to see what happens," Trump replied.

In a news conference Friday, McConnell assured the opposite.

Reporters asked McConnell whether he expects the president to concede to Biden peacefully and remove himself from office by Inauguration Day.

"Of course," McConnell said. "We've had a peaceful transfer of power going back to 1792. Every four years, we've moved on to a new administration."

This is at least the second time McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, has diverged from Trump's rhetoric around the eelction.

After Trump suggested in October that he would not leave the White House peacefully and let Biden step into the role, McConnell tweeted the opposite would happen without referencing the president specifically.

"The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th," he said. "There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792."

Other top GOP figures similarly brushed off Trump's refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, for example, said there would be a peaceful transfer of power and avoided criticizing or naming the president in his remarks.

"As we have done for over two centuries we will have a legitimate & fair election," Rubio said in a tweet. "It may take longer than usual to know the outcome, but it will be a valid one. And at noon on Jan 20, 2021 we will peacefully swear in the President."

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told "Fox & Friends" he could "assure" it will be peaceful, despite Trump's refusal to commit to one.

Later in October, Trump reversed his stance, saying he would want a peaceful transfer.

"I absolutely want that," Trump said. "But ideally, I don't want a transfer because I want to win."

McConnell did not answer questions about Trump's September rhetoric about refusing to commit, telling reporters on Friday that he will not "answer any hypothetical about where we go from here."