Rory Stewart branded 'clueless plonker' after 'predicting Kamala Harris landslide'

Rory Stewart has been branded "clueless" after predicting a "comfortable" victory for Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Winston Marshall, a former member of the band Mumford & Sons who quit the group following uproar over his right-wing politics, blasted Stewart on X following Donald Trump's capture of crucial swing states including Pennsylvania.

Sharing a clip of Stewart discussing the race on a live watch-along programme, the musician wrote: "Rory Stewart demonstrating how totally clueless he is about American politics.

"He predicted a landslide for Kamala. What a blithering plonker. And what a joy to watch the British mainstream media combust."

Stewart, a former Conservative Cabinet minister and co-host of political podcast The Rest is Politics doesn't refer to a Harris landslide in the video, which shows him debating the former prosecutor's chances on election night.

In it, he suggests that factors like incumbency and the relative strength of the US economy supported American historian and election guru Alan Lichtman's prediction that they would be key in Harris clinching the contest.

Meanwhile, Yuan Yi Zhu, Assistant Professor of International Relations and International Law at Leiden University and a Research Associate shared an X post by Stewart on the eve of the election predicting Harris would win "comfortably", writing: "Hardly the greatest villain of the night, but Rory Stewart is proof of how far you can get by being confident and having a posh British accent."

In the November 4 post he was responding to, Stewart wrote: "Kamala Harris will win comfortably", arguing Biden’s administration had been solid, Trump had lost ground since 2016 and "The young Black male votes which Trump needs didn’t turn out in 16, 18, 20, or 22".

He also said "Young women like Kamala" and vote. "Ignore polls—they’re herding, after past misses," he added.

The politician was still backing Harris to the win the race on election night, but this morning conceded his assessment was far wide of the mark, writing on X: "For the record - I was completely wrong about Kamala Harris. It is heartbreaking that Trump is now the President."

Joe Biden will remain the President until January when the inauguration for the country's next leader takes place.

Donald Trump made a speech this morning claiming victory after winning the key swing states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia. The conservative US network Fox News also projected Trump as the presidential winner.

He has currently on 266 electoral college votes, to Harris' 219, putting him on the cusp of the 270 needed to formally declare victory.

Speaking from his watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said he would fix the country and its borders, calling his comeback "the greatest political movement of all time."

"There's never been anything like this in this country," he continued.

"We're going to help our country heal. We've got a country that needs help ... badly ... We're going to fix our borders ... We've made history."