“Without the Electoral College, neither George W. Bush or Donald Trump would have won their first term.”
And neither would have John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B Hayes and Benjamin Harrison.
It happens sometimes.
Take CA out of the equasion, Trump wins the popular vote by 2,000,000
Pure speculation. You have no idea how their campaigns would have been structured in order to win the popular vote. If they were focused on winning the popular vote, they very well may have won, anyway.
For example, how many people here in Texas who supported Trump didn’t even bother to vote, because he knew he had the State wrapped up?
In a popular vote, they certainly would have voted for Trump. It cuts both ways. How many people in California who would have supported Trump stayed home, because they figured it wouldn’t matter?