The American political historian known as the “Nostradamus” of elections appeared speechless early Wednesday morning when he realized that his prediction that Kamala Harris would win the presidential election was wrong.
Allen Lichtman, who has accurately predicted the outcome of 9 out of 10 elections since 1984, was captured in a photo. live stream As President Trump's landslide victory began to become clear, he repeatedly said, “I don't understand this.”
The 77-year-old professor and his son Sam described their stunned reactions in real time as the results were announced towards the end of nearly six hours of election coverage.
“This is the first moment of the night where I felt a little bit of hopelessness,” Sam Lichtman said as news organizations called Pennsylvania to endorse Republican Donald Trump.
Elder Lichtman looked at the data, rubbed his eyes with obvious irritation, and said: “I'm glad I don't have anything to do tomorrow. And I'm not doing any interviews.”
Mr. Lichtman, an American University professor widely known as the “Nostradamus” of U.S. presidential elections, invested in the vice president this year even though polling data suggested Trump would be re-elected.
He is the co-creator of the “Keys to the White House” index, which includes 13 categories to assess the prospects of the two major party candidates. Lichtman said Harris had an advantage on eight of those metrics this year compared to three for Trump.
As the live stream nears its end, with both Lichtmans becoming noticeably frustrated by the numbers showing Trump ahead in all seven battleground states, Alan Lichtman says the data doesn't seem to be working for Harris. “There was nothing positive,” he said.
“Well, democracy is over,” said a visibly defeated Lichtman. “Once democracy is lost, it is almost impossible to recover. The only way to recover is for dictators to lose the war.”
Sam Lichtman was less apocalyptic, saying he hoped Trump would serve out his term and “never have to deal with him again.”
“I've said it hundreds of times,” the father replied. “Democracy is precious, but like all precious things, it can be destroyed. And typically from within. And throughout the 21st century, democracies are in decline everywhere around the world. And now America is following suit. But never give up hope.”
“It's unfathomable,” Lichtman concluded the stream.
