• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Politics

President Trump Said His Win Was The ‘Biggest Since Reagan.’ It Wasn’t

Here are the facts.
President Trump Said His Win Was the ‘Biggest Since Reagan.’ It Wasn’t
Mario Tama—Getty Images
By Maya Rhodan · Updated October 26, 2020

This article originally appeared on TIME.

President Trump just can’t stop talking about the 2016 presidential election. During an hour-plus press conference on Thursday, the president called his November win the “biggest Electoral College win since Ronald Reagan.”

“I put it out before the American people, got 306 Electoral College votes. I wasn’t supposed to get 222. They said there’s no way to get 222, 230’s impossible,” Trump said. “270 which you need, that was laughable. We got 306 because people came out and voted like they’ve never seen before so that’s the way it goes.”

5309933609001

He added, “I guess it was the biggest Electoral College win since Ronald Reagan.”

Except, it wasn’t.

In 2016, Trump won 306 Electoral College votes, 36 votes over the 270 needed to win. (He ended up getting only 304, because of two faithless electors.) Given Trump’s loosely organized campaign and controversial statements, the businessman’s win was definitely a surprise—the majority of pundits, pollsters, and politicos predicted he would lose.

But it wasn’t the biggest win since Reagan who won 90.9% of the electoral college votes in 1980, according to data by the New York Times. The Times ranks Trump’s electoral win as the 46th biggest of 58 elections.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest in hair, beauty, style and celebrity news.

Trump’s wasn’t even the biggest win since Barack Obama. In 2012, Obama received 332 electoral votes. And in 2008, Obama won 365. Both times, Obama managed to win over 60% of the electoral college votes. Obama came close to besting President Bill Clinton, who won 70.4% of the Electoral College votes in 1996.

It was, however, a more substantial win than the last Republican president, President George W. Bush, who just barely received over 50% of the Electoral College vote in both of his elections. In 2000, Bush won 271 Electoral Votes and in 2004, he was reelected with 286 votes. But Trump’s was not a bigger win than fellow Republican President George H.W. Bush, who earned 79.2% of the electoral vote in 1988. At the time Bush 41 did, in fact, have the biggest win since Reagan.

When asked about the false claim during the press conference, Trump said he was just saying what he was told. “I was given that information, I don’t know,” said the president.

TOPICS:  Donald Trump
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now