Trump keeps talking about having a mandate, and having won by a landslide. He is also upset about having lost the popular vote by the largest count ever in any presidential election. His supporters are now surfacing claiming that if you took California and New York out of the picture, Clinton would not have won the popular vote.

California and New York together make up 18% of the population of the United States and 22% of its GDP. California and New York contribute more to the wealth of the US than most other states. California and New York together, with a GDP of $3.6 trillion, would be the 4th largest country in the world, after the United States, China and Japan, even ahead of Germany with its $3.5 trillion.

Taking California and New York out of the electoral picture in the United States, even for the sake of this argument, is ludicrous. It would emasculate the country.

Sorry. We’re going to have to count the votes of California and New York. Trump did not win by a landslide and he does not have a mandate. He won by a sliver, an election-night burp. He won because too many Democrats were too lazy to go to the polls. He won because too many people cast protest votes for 3rd party candidates.

Trump didn’t win this election. Clinton lost it.

And speaking of California and New York: I, for one, am proud of being a Californian and contributing to its GDP.