American presidents are not elected directly by the people but by a group of elected representatives known as the electoral college.The electoral college has 538 electors. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the White House. Efforts to get rid of the electoral college have been unsuccessful several times before. Such an effort would be all but impossible now, as it would require a two-thirds vote in what will be both a Republican-controlled House and Senate, as well as a ratification by 38 of the 50 states, The Washington Post added.The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2012
But four years later he swept the polls, pulling off perhaps the biggest upset in US election history, by defeating favourite Hillary Clinton.
Back in 2012, the billionaire had lashed out at the system when it seemed Mitt Romney might win the popular vote against Barack Obama, reports The Washington Post.
On Nov 7 that year, he tweeted: “The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.”
