Trump Lost But Won
President Elect Donald Trump, the Republican nominee who many said wouldn’t make it past the primaries, won the presidency thanks to the Electoral College. However, he once showed distaste in the system:
The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2012
The Electoral College counts electors from each state. The higher your population, the more Electoral votes your state gets. He beat his opponent, former Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton, by 51 votes:
Trump: 279
Clinton: 228
However, Clinton won the popular vote:
Clinton: 59,755,284
Trump: 59,535,522
Simply put: out of everyone who voted on November 8th, most of them were in favor of Clinton.
Trump Started Obama Birther Movement
Trump took to Twitter with that statement back in 2012, after current President Barack Obama won his second term. Yet even if the Electoral College hadn’t been a factor back then, Obama still would have won the popular vote.
He pulled in 65.9 million votes compared to his opponent, former Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney, with 60.9 million votes.
Trump then claimed Obama was born in Kenya, thereby making him ineligible to become president. He recently admitted that’s not true in a statement that quickly shifted into an announcement about a new hotel.
A Nation Divided
As the night went on, it became more evident that Trump would win. It was difficult for Hillary supporters to accept, and they’ve since begun protesting his victory.
#NotGoingSoWell for #DonaldTrump as the #NotMyPresident campaign gathers momentum in the #UnitedStates https://t.co/M2rdumgliO
— Robert Marere ?? (@robertmarere) November 10, 2016
Meanwhile, Trump supporters are enjoying their candidate’s win:
https://twitter.com/MarkDice/status/796589709338165249
It’s important to note that many Republicans, including those currently in office, did not vote for Trump.
Al Gore and Clinton Lost the Same Way
Back in 2000, former Vice President Al Gore ran for president against George W. Bush. Gore won the popular vote, but lost because of the Electoral College.
Clinton was a democratic senator from New York at the time and responded:
“I believe strongly that in a democracy, we should respect the will of the people, and to me that means it’s time to do away with the Electoral College and move to the popular election of our president.”
Trump may just get his wish, though. There’s currently a petition on Change.org to elect Clinton. It will be sent to the Electoral College who makes their decision on December 19.
To date, over a million people have signed it.
Watch this video of people protesting a Trump presidency:
Featured Image By Michael Vadon via Wikimedia Commons/CC 330
