Nearly a week after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris, the ‘Nostradamus’ of US elections is blaming the ex-president’s pal Elon Musk for his wrong prediction.
Historian Allan Lichtman, who picked Vice President Kamala Harris to win the 2024 race, has provided a deeper explanation for his incorrect forecast. The American University professor took a loss on his remarkable record, his first in 24 years.
‘Number one, disinformation. We’ve always had disinformation, but disinformation has exploded to an unprecedented degree,’ Lichtman told NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo on Monday night.
He called out Fox News and conservative news outlets.
Lichtman continued by naming the X (formerly Twitter) owner, who appeared at some of Trump’s campaign rallies and offered a $1million-a-day giveaway to swing state voters that got challenged in court.
The professor said that Musk’s platform, which has a massive reach, was used to spread misinformation on undocumented immigrants, hurricane relief aid, the Russia-Ukraine war, the economy and more issues.
‘We’ve seen something brand new this time – billionaire Elon Musk putting his thumb on the scales,’ said Lichtman.
‘When I was a kid, I read science fiction books, you know, the premise was a few mega rich people are able to control society. We’re not all that far from it and I am sounding the alarm and I don’t think I’m the only one.’
Lichtman’s model centres on 13 keys to the White House, determined by true-false answers to the performance of the political party in power. Lichtman in early September picked Harris, saying that the Democratic Party only had three false keys on issues. Six false keys would have been needed for Lichtman to have chosen Trump.
Once he made his prediction, Lichtman did not change it. Prior to his latest miscalculation, he had correctly forecast nine of the past 10 presidential election outcomes. He has acknowledged that he was wrong this time.
‘The premise of the keys is that a rational, pragmatic electorate decides whether the White House party has governed well enough to get four more years,’ Lichtman said.
‘But if the views of the White House party are controlled by disinformation, particularly driven by those who are so rich that they have extraordinary influence beyond anyone else, then maybe the premise of the keys need to be changed.’
Asked if he may reevaluate his keys, which are not based on polls or pundits, Lichtman said it is ‘very possible’ and that he has four years to figure it out.
Cuomo finished by telling the historian not to feel to bad about getting it wrong this election cycle.
‘Professor Allan Lichtman, you are one of the greats,’ said Cuomo. ‘Nothing changed just because you got one wrong. It happens to me every 15 minutes’
Lichtman replied with a laugh: ‘You know where to find me.’
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