Biden just won in a 'landslide' — according to Trump

In 2016, Donald Trump won the Electoral College 306-232, a margin of victory that Trump and his supporters deemed a “landslide.”

On Friday, President-elect Joe Biden officially won the Electoral College by the exact same margin, after NBC, CBS, and ABC all called Georgia for Biden.

Those outlets had called Arizona for Biden on Thursday, bringing Biden’s total Electoral College votes to 306.

Biden won the popular vote by more than 4 million votes, compared to Trump, who in 2016 lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by more than 2.8 million votes. In three key swing states — Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — Biden more than doubled Trump’s margin of victory in 2016.

Here are a few times Trump and his allies called his 306 Electoral College votes a “landslide” victory:

Donald Trump

Trump has called his 2016 victory a landslide numerous times over the past four years, often reminding people of his win in unrelated speeches.

Trump’s own biography on the White House website mentions that he “was elected president in the largest Electoral College landslide for a Republican in 28 years.”

In the days after he was declared the winner in 2016, Trump bragged about his victory — which came from less than 100,000 votes in a trio of states.

“In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” Trump tweeted falsely on Nov. 27, 2016.

“@CNN is so embarrassed by their total (100%) support of Hillary Clinton, and yet her loss in a landslide, that they don’t know what to do,” Trump tweeted on Nov. 28, 2016.

In December 2016, Trump went on Fox News to brag about his Electoral College victory.

“We had a massive landslide victory as you know in the Electoral College,” Trump told Fox News’ Chris Wallace.

On Feb. 16, 2017, roughly a month after he was inaugurated, Trump again touted his Electoral College margin.

“The Democrats had to come up with a story as to why they lost the election, and so badly (306), so they made up a story – RUSSIA. Fake news!” Trump tweeted.

On Nov. 8, 2017, a year after his victory, Trump tweeted a photo with his aides with the caption, “Congratulations to all of the “DEPLORABLES” and the millions of people who gave us a MASSIVE (304-227) Electoral College landslide victory!”

In October 2019, Trump again brought up his 2016 margin.

“The Do Nothing Democrats should be focused on building up our Country, not wasting everyone’s time and energy on BULLSHIT, which is what they have been doing ever since I got overwhelmingly elected in 2016, 223-306. Get a better candidate this time, you’ll need it!” Trump tweeted.

Donald Trump Jr.

Trump’s eldest son, who has been one of his loudest surrogates, also has touted his father’s “landslide” win in 2016.

In 2018, he mentioned it while tweeting about the addition of a staffer to the 2020 reelection campaign staff.

“@Paduch was instrumental to my father’s landslide 2016 victory in Ohio and has been a true fighter for his America First agenda for the past 2 years as co-Chair of @GOP,” Trump Jr. tweeted. “Excited to see Bob join the 2020 campaign to help lead us to another Ohio victory! #MAGA”

Kellyanne Conway

Conway, who served as a senior adviser in the Trump administration for nearly the entirety of his tenure before leaving last month, also called Trump’s 2016 Electoral College win a landslide.

“306. Landslide. Blowout. Historic,” Conway tweeted on Nov. 28, 2016.

Ronna McDaniel

Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel tweeted about Trump’s “landslide” victory in February 2020, after Trump was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate.

“Is it any surprise Democrats won’t accept an acquittal of @realDonaldTrump? They never accepted his electoral-vote landslide. Never accepted there was no collusion. Never accept his offers to work across the aisle. It’s been the longest temper tantrum in American history!” she tweeted.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)

In November 2019, during the impeachment hearings, Jordan brought up Trump’s Electoral College win to complain about Democrats’ treatment of Trump.

“@SpeakerPelosi called the President of the United States an ‘imposter.’ What an insult to the 63 million Americans who voted for President Trump and gave him an Electoral College landslide,” Jordan said in an appearance on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

Reince Priebus

Former RNC chair and former Trump chief of staff also used the term “landslide.”

In a Nov. 14, 2016, appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Priebus said:

And look what happened on Tuesday. I mean, it was an electoral landslide and the American people agreed that Donald Trump’s vision for America is what this country has been waiting for.

Sean Spicer

Trump’s first press secretary who is now infamous for falsely saying Trump had the largest inaugural crowd in history also called Trump’s 2016 victory “massive” and “overwhelming.”

In December 2016, roughly a month after the election, Spicer said in an appearance on CNN:

I get what the press wants, but the American people have understood exactly what they’re getting and they voted overwhelmingly for him. He has been very clear about what he owns, the role of his family and everything else since he announced that he was running for president, and they overwhelmingly elected him with all of that on the table.

Back in February, after the 2020 New Hampshire GOP presidential primary, conservative activist and former Trump campaign aide David Bossie tweeted about Trump’s 2016 win.

“Huge Victory last night,” Bossie tweeted. “@realDonaldTrump will win New Hampshire this November and expand his electoral map from his landslide in 2016.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.