Kellyanne Conway tweeted yesterday that Trump won in a landslide after winning the state of Michigan, which put his electoral college total at 306:
306. Landslide. Blowout. Historic. https://t.co/ObYZDo8cBq
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) November 28, 2016
Trump 306 vs Clinton 232.
But according to Nate Silver, this wasn’t a landslide in historical context. He points out that Trump actually did rather poorly compared to the share of electoral votes other presidents have won:
But in a historical context, Trump’s Electoral College performance is decidedly below-average. So it’s a bit Orwellian to call it a “landslide” or a “blowout.” There have been 54 presidential elections since the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804. (Before that, presidential electors cast two votes each, making it hard to compare them to present-day elections.) Of those 54 cases, Trump’s share of the electoral vote — assuming there are no faithless electors or results overturned by recounts — ranks 44th:
Here’s the thing about all of this. If Hillary had gotten 306 electoral votes we’d be calling her victory a landslide. While it may not fit the historical context, in this divisive age I think we can definitely call it a landslide victory for Trump.
That said, Trump was hailed by some as the next Reagan. But you’ll note that he didn’t even come close to the landslide victory Reagan won by in both his elections. Reagan is near the top of the chart and Trump is near the bottom, and I think that speaks volumes about the difference in the two men.