ABC News(NEW YORK) — A newly elected Donald Trump has changed his tune on the Electoral College, calling it “genius” after his win in the presidential election — a far cry from when he blasted it four years ago.
Trump, despite trailing by nearly 1 million ballots in the popular vote, with 94 percent of the count in, won an Electoral College victory 290-232, with Michigan outstanding.
A large part of that victory was claiming Rust Belt states that were considered largely safe for Democrats, such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — a move that stunned observers. Trump won by narrow margins in both states.
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
But just four years ago, when President Obama won reelection, Trump called for a march on Washington and decried the system of electors.
The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2012
Trump even bragged Tuesday that he would have run up the score against Clinton had the Electoral College not been in play.
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
Trump lost New York 59-37 percent by a margin of nearly 1.5 million votes, according to ABC News projections. He lost California by an even bigger margin — 62-33 with a margin of more than 3 million votes with 70 percent of the expected vote in.
Trump also won a narrow victory in Florida — 49-48 percent with a margin of 120,000 votes. He made several campaign stops in Florida.
This is the second time in five presidential elections that the winner was projected to lose the popular vote. The other was in 2000 when George W. Bush won.
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