TRUMP: I was 'never a fan of the Electoral College,' would 'rather do the popular vote'
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President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that he "was never a fan of the Electoral College" and thinks he would do "as well or better" if the US presidential election were structured around a national popular vote.
In the general election, Trump won the White House through the Electoral College. He currently trails Hillary Clinton by more than 1.5 million votes nationwide, with more votes left to count.
Trump referenced the disparity while talking to New York Times reporters during a meeting Tuesday afternoon.
"We had a great victory," Trump said, according to New York Times reporters and editors in the meeting. "I'll see every once in a while someone says, 'Well, the popular vote.'"
He continued: "I'd rather do the popular vote. I think we'd do as well or better." He also said he was "never a fan of the Electoral College," adding, "until now."
Trump also noted that the Electoral College gets presidential candidates out to states they wouldn't otherwise visit. Without the Electoral College, "you wouldn't leave New York," he said.
Trump has snagged 306 likely electoral votes — with Michigan an apparent victory — more than the 270 he needed to become president, by winning key swing states like Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Clinton, on the other hand, racked up large margins in populous states like California and New York.