Ari Berman has been covering the voter suppression story for a long time. He's a great resource to turn to when you need data (as is the Brennan Center for Justice).
Quote: Trump’s Lies About Voter Fraud Are Already Leading to New GOP Voter-Suppression Efforts
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When we're thinking/talking about Trump's widely ridiculed tweet re popular vote, there are several easily discernible political/propagandist gains to be had by him and the right.
1 - forwarding the notion (as Pence did on the weekend) that Trump won a "landslide victory". This, they hope, will facilitate pretty much any initiative Trump and the GOP set out upon. It's the mandate thing. Also, it's a means to further denigrate liberal/progressive policies and goals (Americans decisively rejected them).
2 - as in the examples noted by Berman, voter suppression policies are and will be expanded perhaps to a national level under the appointed Justice head. Because modern elections are often very close, this is a critical factor and it is why the GOP (and allies like ALEC) have been pushing them for a long time now.
3 - it aids in further fostering, within the right wing universe, the notion that the mainstream media (who have roundly lambastedd Trump for the ridiculous claim, are merely liberals who are doing propaganda rather than objective reporting.
4 - it furthers the current right wing meta-message that facts and lies are indistinguishable so don't bother listening or thinking about it, just trust Donald or whomever, so long as they speak from trustable right wing sources.
Trump's tweet itself is really the least important element in all this.
