Trump Says Electoral College ‘Far Better For USA' Than Popular Vote

President Donald Trump supported the Electoral College amid the ongoing debate about the way the United States elects its presidents. Trump took to his Twitter account late Tuesday to say the Electoral College is “far better for the U.S.A.”

Trump's opinion has changed over the years as he believed in 2012 the Electoral College was “a disaster for a democracy.” However, he talked positively about it after he won the elections in 2016.

Trump's comments about the Electoral College came after Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is running for the 2020 presidential elections, called for ending it in a CNN town hall Monday night.

"I believe we need a constitutional amendment that protects the right to vote for every American citizen and to make sure that vote gets counted," Warren said at a CNN town hall on Monday. "We can have national voting, and that means get rid of the Electoral College."

Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke said Tuesday he sees "a lot of wisdom" in the idea.

“You had an election in 2016 where the loser got 3 million more votes than the victor," the presidential hopeful said in a video. "It puts some states out of play all together.”

Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate John Delaney said he thinks it's a waste of time for candidates to talk about the Electoral College.

“I would love to get rid of the Electoral College because I don’t think it’s the right way -- but it’s not changing. I think to some extent it’s a total waste of time to talk about it,” he said on “The Story with Martha MacCallum.” “I’d rather talk about improving public education, creating a better health care system, lowering drug prices, investing in infrastructure. Doing things that matter to the American people.”

After two elections in the last 20 years in which the popular vote winner lost the presidency, progressives have been arguing to abolish the Electoral College and calling for an expansion of voting rights. Most Democrats have been criticizing the Electoral College, after Trump won the 2016 election despite losing the popular vote. Former President George W. Bush also won the presidency in 2000 after losing the popular vote to Democratic nominee Al Gore.

According to the U.S. Constitution, the presidential election is not completely decided until each member of the Electoral College, better known as electors, cast their votes for the president. There are 538 electors, meaning 270 electoral votes are needed to be elected.

To abolish the Electoral College, a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Congress is required and ratification by three-fourths of the states, or 38 of the current 50.

In February, former Attorney General Eric Holder called the Electoral College “undemocratic” and said it’s time to get rid of it.

According to the arguments from the opponents of the Electoral College, which was established in 1787, the system provides an incentive to presidential candidates to focus their campaigns on a handful of swing states, rather than appeal to a broader base of voters across the country.