FiveThirtyEight founder and editor in chief Nate Silver famously predicted all 50 states of the 2012 election — but when it came to predicting Donald Trump’s chances, he wasn’t so accurate.
He’s not the only one. Political pundits, newscasters and celebrities have doubted Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy back on on June 16, 2015. They have called him everything from a “comical figure” to a “blowhard” and compared him at times to Hitler.
They’ve also badly underestimated his chances. Trump is now the GOP frontrunner.
How were so many people so wrong? Here’s a look at some of the people who said he had no chance:
Nate Silver
Back in September, Silver told CNN’s Anderson cooper that Trump has “maybe about 5 percent” chance of winning the GOP nomination. Silver has since come around, suggesting today that Trump has a chance of clinching the GOP nomination before the Republican National Convention.
Rachel Maddow
The MSNBC host has mocked Trump for, well, basically everything. on the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” last August, she said, “I can’t imagine that he actually wants to be president.” It’s safe to say Maddow still isn’t a fan, recently blaming the GOP frontrunner for incidents of violence at his campaign rallies.
Stuart Stevens
The political consultant and former Mitt Romney strategist went on CNN last October to compare Trump to “Division 3” football team with a “trash-talking coach” that thinks they can beat a powerhouse school to win the national championship.
Marco Rubio
The failed candidate said that “Donald Trump has no chance” as recently as March 2.
Cenk Uygur
The Young Turks political team isn’t fond of Trump, even imposing a ban on coverage early in his campaign. Back on August 10, Uygur said Trump is only running for publicity to help build his name and put it on more buildings. Uygur called Trump “vile” and “preposterous” while blacking out Trump‘s face during coverage.
Sam Stein
The Huffington Post also refused to cover Trump as an actual politician and opted to cover him in the entertainment section for much of the campaign. HuffPost senior politics editor Stein went on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” back on June 18 to say, “No one is doubting his entertainment value or the fact that he can deliver a good line and the fact that he might have an impact on a debate stage. That’s not in doubt. But to say that makes him serious is ridiculous.”
Bill Kristol
The Weekly Standard founder and political analyst went on “Morning Joe” to say, “He can’t. He’s not going to win this thing” back on October 22. Kristol is still leading an anti-Trump movement, but at least he admits his predictions aren’t very strong.
John Oliver
The HBO host has been critical of Trump from the start, delivering a 20-minute monologue about Trump on Feb. 28 and another critique Sunday. Oliver didn’t technically make a false prediction, but he’s included on this list because of his sincere shock at Trump’s popularity. Last week, Oliver went on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” to admit he has to care Trump these days whether he wants to or not.
Check out TheWrap’s video of our favorite Trump naysayers above.