Some Democrats have expressed openness to drastically changing the U.S. system of government, whether it be abolishing the Electoral College or expanding the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump pushed back at Democrats, calling them "very 'strange.'"
"They now want to change the voting age to 16, abolish the Electoral College, and Increase significantly the number of Supreme Court Justices," he tweeted. "Actually, you've got to win it at the Ballot Box!"
That tweet came after a two-part defense of the Electoral College, which Trump in 2012 said was "a disaster for a democracy." Since 2000, the presidency has twice been won by the candidate who lost the popular vote, including by Trump in 2016.
"Campaigning for the Popular Vote is much easier & different than campaigning for the Electoral College," Trump tweeted. "It's like training for the 100 yard dash vs. a marathon. The brilliance of the Electoral College is that you must go to many States to win."
"With the Popular Vote, you go to ... just the large States — the Cities would end up running the Country," he continued. "Smaller States & the entire Midwest would end up losing all power — & we can't let that happen. I used to like the idea of the Popular Vote, but now realize the Electoral College is far better for the U.S.A."
Trump's tweet came after some of the 2020 heavyweights expressed openness to or endorsed those ideas. During a CNN town hall on Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said she would back a plan to scrap the Electoral College.
"My view is that every vote matters," Warren said. "And the way we can make that happen is that we can have national voting and that means get rid of the Electoral College — and every vote counts."
Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, addressed the idea on Tuesday while campaigning at Penn State University, saying there is "a lot of wisdom" in calls to abolish the Electoral College.
"I think there's a lot to that. Because you had an election in 2016 where the loser got 3 million more votes than the victor," O'Rourke said. "It puts some states out of play altogether, they don't feel like their votes really count."
O'Rourke had earlier said he's open to expanding the Supreme Court.
"What if there were five justices selected by Democrats, five justices selected by Republicans, and those 10 then pick five more justices independent of those who chose the first 10?" O'Rourke said in Iowa on Thursday. "I think that's an idea we should explore."
That idea has been echoed by other Democratic candidates, such as Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
"I would like to start exploring a lot of options," Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., added Monday. "Term limits for Supreme Court justices might be one thing."
One idea some Democratic contenders have floated that Trump did not think was "very strange" was abolishing the Senate's legislative filibuster — the 60 vote threshold. Trump has railed on the need for bills to have 60 votes in order to pass when legislation he desires cannot make it through the Senate.
In June, he said Republicans "must end the ridiculous 60 vote, or Filibuster, rule."
