Katie Couric cast doubt on Trump’s early election night surge as mere ‘red mirage’

On election night, journalist Kate Couric preemptively warned Americans that votes rolling in for Donald Trump on Tuesday night were simply "a red mirage."

Hours later, Trump won the presidential election after earning more than 270 electoral votes. President-elect Trump addressed his supporters in the nation early Wednesday morning following the projection of his decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. 

"Just a quick reminder if you're watching the election results tonight, I just want to make you aware of something called a ‘red mirage,'" Couric told her followers on TikTok. "That's when some of the rural counties come in because they're earlier and faster, because there are fewer votes to count."

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"So don't panic if you hear people or see kind of Donald Trump winning in some of the swing states, because that happened before in 2020, and as the votes come in from bigger urban areas, the results change," the liberal former news anchor added. "So, I thought that would be helpful for you all to know as you watch everything that's going on tonight. Anyway, happy Election Day."

Yet, it was Couric who offered warning signs for Democrats during the campaign. 

Back in May 2024, Couric told "The Issue Is" host Elex Michaelson, "It seems that Donald Trump has the edge right now, despite all of his legal woes and the fact that, y’know, he’s on trial and Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen," the journalist said when asked about the state of the race. "He seems to be, surprisingly, gaining momentum, not losing it."

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In October, Couric told Charlamagne tha God that she didn't believe Harris came across as "authentic," when talking about her policies and answering questions from the media.

Rejecting Charlamagne’s contention that Harris comes off as authentic, the former CBS and NBC journalist retorted, "I have to beg to differ with you on that point. I think that she takes a really long time to get to her point, and that she does rely on talking points too often. I think she’s gotten much better than she used to, but it’s almost as if she’s afraid to say something that will later come back to haunt her."

Fox News' Alexander Hall and Kristine Parks contributed to this report.