I actually believe that Trump WISH he won the PV but lost the EV in 2016. Perhaps he never wanted to be President, but wanted to say "I COULD have won it if I tried" and having a PV "win" could back that claim up.
Not a bad argument
It's his M.O. "I COULD have won if I really wanted to." He does this a LOT. He did it during the 2012 race. He did it when he skipped the Iowa debate, etc. etc.
IMO the popular vote really, really affected him mentally (he even wanted to get rid of the electoral college but Mitch McConnell talked him out of it lol). In 2020 though I think he'll just want to win outright. IMO if Trump wins next time he will get the popular vote as well.
Me? I just say he lost the popular vote because he didn't spend as much money as Clinton did.