Renowned political historian Allan Lichtman, who has often been dubbed the “polling Nostradamus”, appeared visibly shocked during a livestream as he watched Donald Trump beat his prediction for the United States presidential election on Wednesday.
During the livestream, which Lichtman hosted on his YouTube channel, the 77-year-old professor was accompanied by his son, Sam, as he watched the election results pour in on Wednesday, Wion reported.
Lichtman, who is known for accurately forecasting the outcomes of nine out of ten presidential elections since 1984, seemed at a loss for words when the Republican presidential candidate surged ahead in the election, undermining his earlier prediction of a victory for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
He was seen repeatedly saying “I don’t get it” as he watched Trump’s victory unfold during the livestream.
“This is the first moment of the night where I’ve lost hope a little bit,” said Sam, when Trump won Pennsylvania.
Lichtman rubbed his eyes in disbelief and said: “Good thing I have nothing to do tomorrow. And I’m not doing any interviews.”
The professor had created the “Keys to the White House” metric, which has 13 categories that assess the prospects of two major-party candidates.
As per Lichtman, this year Harris had the edge in eight metrics in comparison to Trump who had three.
When the livestream neared its end, Lichtman and his son appeared very frustrated as Trump led in all seven swing states.
“Oh, the democracy’s gone,” said Lichtman. “Once democracy’s gone, it’s almost impossible to recover. The way to recover is by the dictators losing wars,” he added.
However, Sam said that he is hoping Trump will serve his presidential term and that “we never have to deal with him again.”
Meanwhile, Lichtman said: “I’ve said it a hundred times. Democracy is precious, but like all precious things, it can be destroyed. And typically destroyed from within.
“And throughout the 21st century, democracy has been in decline everywhere around the world, and America has now fallen in step. But never give up hope. It’s unfathomable.”
