Hillary Clinton may blame FBI Director James Comey for her election loss, but as Michael Moore pointed out, there are many other reasons why she failed to trounce Donald Trump in the way that matters — the Electoral College. On Tuesday, news arrived that Clinton not only bested Trump in the popular vote, but she did so by at least 1 million ballots. That simple realization prompts reflection of the case against the Electoral College. But what does Donald Trump think of the institution?
The answer is a complicated one, naturally. Trump’s known for changing his views on subjects nearly as often as he tweets, and of course the Electoral College has benefited him greatly this November. However, he certainly was not a fan of the EC when Barack Obama won reelection in 2012.
The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2012
Now, Trump believes the Electoral College is “genius,” of course.
The Electoral College is actually genius in that it brings all states, including the smaller ones, into play. Campaigning is much different!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2016
He then twisted the knife to say that he’d have campaigned much differently if victory was based upon the popular vote, and he’d have won that too.
If the election were based on total popular vote I would have campaigned in N.Y. Florida and California and won even bigger and more easily
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2016
The resulting furor over this election outcome has prompted Senator Barbara Boxer to announce a new bill to abolish the Electoral College. Will it take effect now? No, and it would require a constitutional amendment via two-thirds vote by both the House and Senate, and it would need to be ratified by 38 states at some point within seven years. And it’s not likely to do any of those things.