‘Nostradamus’ reveals if ‘October surprise’ will change his pick of Harris or Trump winning --[Reported by Umva mag]

The 'Nostradamus' who correctly called almost every US presidential election recently revealed if Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will win.

Oct 8, 2024 - 23:20
‘Nostradamus’ reveals if ‘October surprise’ will change his pick of Harris or Trump winning --[Reported by Umva mag]
(L) Historian Allan Lichtman speaks from inside what appears to be an office. (C) Donald Trump wears a blue suit and red tie in front of a microphone. (R) Kamala Harris wears a white shirt and black suit jacket.
Historian Allan Lichtman (left) last month predicted that Vice President Kamala Harris (right) would beat ex-President Donald Trump (center) in the November election (Pictures: AP/YouTube)

The ‘Nostradamus’ who correctly called almost every US presidential election over four decades recently revealed if Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will win the 2024 contest.

Historian and American University professor Allan Lichtman, 77, last month predicted that Harris will triumph over Trump, based on his 13 keys to the White House.

Weeks later on Friday, Lichtman was asked if an ‘October surprise’ – which is an unexpected development or scandal a month before the election – would sway his pick.

‘One of the greatest myths of American politics is the October surprise,’ Lichtman told CNN’s Michael Smerconish on SiriusXM.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a podium in front of a sign for his campaign
Former President Donald Trump was historian Allan Lichtman’s pick to win the 2016 election (Picture: Getty Images)

‘I have never changed my prediction in response to an October surprise because the keys gauged the big picture of incumbent governance in strength and don’t sway by the events of the campaign.’

Lichtman’s keys are based on 120 years worth of presidential election results and determined through simple true or false answers to the performance of the party in the White House at the time. They are not based on polling.

The keys are: Midterm gains, incumbency, primary contest, third party, short-term economy, long-term economy, policy change, social unrest, White House scandal, incumbent charisma, challenger charisma, foreign policy failure and foreign policy success.

Six false keys would indicate that Harris will lose.

Vice President Kamala Harris wears a black suit as she stands in front of a podium with an American flag next to her
Vice President Kamala Harris is historian Allan Lichtman’s pick to win the 2024 election (Picture: Reuters)

In early September, Lichtman had Harris losing three keys – midterm gains, incumbency and incumbent charisma. He did not call the foreign policy failure and foreign policy success keys, but said that if Harris lost both, she would still only have five false keys.

‘Even if both foreign policy keys flipped false, that would mean that there were only five negative keys, which would not be enough for Donald Trump to regain the White House,’ Lichtman told The New York Times at the time.

Lichtman, who has correctly predicted nine out of 10 recent elections, has faced criticism on his latest pick including from prognosticator and FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver.

Historian and American University professor Allan Lichtman gestures with both hands as answers questions during an interview with AFP in Bethesda, Maryland, on September 7, 2024
Historian and American University professor Allan Lichtman said an ‘October surprise’ will not change his 2024 election prediction (Picture: Getty Images)

After exchanging verbal shots at each other, Lichtman in a video titled ‘Burying the Hatchet with Nate Silver’ on September 30 said: ‘Once I make my final prediction, I don’t actually change that prediction.

‘So we can each do our own thing and respect one another for doing it.’

Lichtman was among the few who predicted that Trump would win the 2016 election. His October surprise theory survived the test then, as Trump’s ‘grab ’em by the p****’ remark emerged in an Access Hollywood tape obtained by The Washington Post. Still, Trump won the election.

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