Early Wednesday morning, Allen Lichtman, a political historian renowned for his accurate election predictions, appeared to be at a loss for words as he came to terms with the fact that his forecast—of a Kamala Harris win in the presidential race—was wrong. Lichtman, who has correctly predicted the results of nine out of the last ten elections since 1984, could be heard on a livestream exclaiming “I don’t get it” as Donald Trump’s overwhelming victory became clear.
The 77-year-old scholar and his son, Sam, reacted with surprise as the election results unfolded, streaming their reactions live for nearly six hours into the night. As the tide turned in Trump’s favor, the two were visibly stunned by the shifting numbers.
“This is the first moment of the night where I’ve lost hope a little bit,” Sam Lichtman remarked as it became clear that Pennsylvania had been called for Trump.
Meanwhile, his father, the elder Lichtman, rubbed his eyes in visible frustration at the unfolding results, remarking, “Good thing I have nothing to do tomorrow. And I’m not doing any interviews.”
Lichtman, who is an American University professor and often referred to as the “Nostradamus” of U.S. elections, had confidently predicted a victory for Harris, despite polling suggesting that another Trump term was more likely.
Lichtman, co-creator of the “Keys to the White House” forecasting model, which assesses 13 different factors to predict the outcome of elections, had found Harris leading in eight of those categories, compared to Trump’s three.
But as the livestream continued, both Lichtmans became increasingly frustrated by the results, with Trump leading in all seven key swing states. At that point, Allen Lichtman declared, “There’s nothing positive” for Harris in the data.
“Oh, the democracy’s gone,” a dejected Lichtman said. “Once democracy’s gone, it’s almost impossible to recover. The way to recover is by the dictators losing wars.”
Sam Lichtman, however, was less pessimistic, stating that he hoped Trump would serve his term and that “we never have to deal with him again.”
“I’ve said it a hundred times,” his father responded. “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.”
The elder Lichtman ended the broadcast with a final, somber reflection, saying, “It’s unfathomable.”

{Matzav.com}