If Trump had cared for the popular vote he would have campaigned for it. He campaigned to win the electoral college. National polls are useless, so what if Biden wins the popular vote because of illegal voting in Calif.? The 4 pt lead that Hillary had was suppose to translate into a massive electoral college win, but it didn’t. It was useless except for a talking point. Bill Clinton never won the popular vote, he never got over 49% of the vote. So, this has nothing about ‘projecting your beliefs’ it is dealing with facts. If the polls were correct about Hillary, why was everyone shocked at the outcome? The popular vote means nothing-period.
Presidents who lost popular vote, but won Electoral College votes:
Rutherford B. Hayes (1876)
Benjamin Harrison (1888)
George W. Bush (2000)
Donald Trump (2016)