The American election takes place on the night of Monday to Tuesday and according to this rule, we already know the winner!
On the night of November 4 to 5, the United States will elect a new president and will decide between Democrat Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump. According to the latest polls, the two candidates are neck and neck and anything could swing the election. So we’re going to look for that little something wherever we can, particularly in old American beliefs.
You knew “Paul the Hen”, now here is “Redskins Rule”. From 1940 to the 2000s, this rule was foolproof for predicting the president-elect. For non-purists, the Redskins are a famous NFL franchise, the American Football League. And as luck would have it, it is the team from the capital Washington. Its name has also changed, the franchise is now called Commanders. But the name doesn’t matter: from the 1940s until Barack Obama’s re-election in 2012, Washington’s last home game before a presidential election almost always predicted the outcome of the election.
According to tradition (or superstition), a victory for Washington before the elections is in fact supposed to allow the party in place to keep the White House. While a defeat would lead to a change of party at the head of the country. However, in this month of October 2024, a few days before the ballot box verdict, the result of Washington’s last NFL match was spectacular and indecisive, like the election.
At the last second of the game, a pass of more than 60 yards sent by quarterback Jayden Daniels, and caught by one of his receivers, gave Washington a narrow victory against Chicago (18-15). A miraculous outcome, which, according to “Redskins Rule”, could cause Donald Trump to lose the election. But be careful because this rule, almost infallible for decades, has nevertheless weakened a little over the last ten years. The re-election of Barack Obama, despite the defeat of the Redskins a few days earlier against the Carolina Panthers in 2012, testifies to this change.
Since then, there has also been talk of “Redskins Rule 2.0”. The amendment states that if the winner of the popular vote does not win the Electoral College, the rule has the opposite effect for the following election. In 2000, Bush won the Electoral College, but not the popular vote, meaning that in 2004 the rule was reversed and the prediction remained accurate. This modified rule also applied to 2020. In 2016, Trump did not win the popular vote; in 2020, when the Commanders beat the Cowboys 25-3, the rule was reversed and it was predicted that Biden would win. In short, when you believe in it, you always find a solution so that the rule is verified…