"Democracy (Greek: δημοκρατία, Dēmokratia literally "rule of the commoners"), in modern usage, is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament." (Wikipedia, OED). The US is a constitutional republic.

The popular vote for POTUS would mean a lot more if all the states, not just Nebraska and Maine, awarded their electoral votes to candidates in accordance with a proportion based on the popular vote in each state. Awarding all each state's votes started in 1824 when states realized that they could give their favorite candidate an extra boost in the electoral vote by awarding to that candidate all the states votes, and it's been that way since.

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is designed to remedy the disconnect between the national popular vote and the electoral vote.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact