Hillary Clinton Calls Electoral College a 'Disgrace' After Trump Victory
The former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, labels the Electoral College an “abomination” in The American Experiment, a Netflix miniseries set to premiere on Wednesday.
“Well, I personally think the Electoral College is an abomination,” Clinton states with a laugh during her interview for the series. “For obvious reasons.”
In 2016, Clinton secured nearly 3 million more votes than Donald Trump but lost the presidency due to the Electoral College system established by the Founding Fathers.
Director Brian Knappenberger reveals the emotional weight of discussing that election night with Clinton. “I knew I would be asking former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton about one of the most painful moments of her life,” he told Variety. “She has rarely spoken candidly about that election night and we’re really happy she talked about it for the series. She has a unique perspective as one of only five people in American history to lose the presidency after winning the popular vote. The 2016 election also stands out because Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump in the popular vote by such a significant margin.”
Contrasting Clinton's views, other political figures defend the Electoral College within the series.
Former Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona argues there is “virtue” in the process, emphasizing its role in distributing power between federal and state governments. “The states have considerable power,” Flake asserts in the show. “The states run elections. That is a good thing to decentralize that kind of power.”
Clinton’s unexpected defeat in 2016 shocked many, and while she has previously discussed the election, her recent comments sharply criticize the constitutionally mandated structure that allocates Electoral College votes based on congressional representation. This system disproportionately favors smaller states, as every state receives two Senate votes regardless of population.
In her 2017 memoir, What Happened, Clinton attributed her loss to a mix of sexism, racism, and fallout from the email scandal, alongside Trump’s ability to transform politics into sensational entertainment. “I was running a traditional presidential campaign with carefully thought-out policies and painstakingly built coalitions,” she wrote, “while Trump was running a reality TV show that expertly and relentlessly stoked Americans’ anger and resentment.”
Recent polling indicates that approximately 56 percent of Americans support amending the Constitution to eliminate the Electoral College in favor of a popular vote system.
In April, Virginia became the 18th state to join the National Popular Vote Compact, which commits states to award their Electoral College votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote.
The compact will only take effect once the participating states collectively hold 270 Electoral College votes, the number required to elect a president.
