Donald Trump has been re-inventing American politics.
He latest innovation is citing a proven track record of predicting events before they happen — buffing up his bona fides as a potential Commander-in-Chief.
On the campaign trail for the past few weeks the billionaire has citing his crystal ball accuracy as proof he's qualified for the job — from the 9/11 attacks to the rise of the Islamic State to improving Apple's iPhone.
Here are some of the predictions Trump has made over the years and their outcomes:
9/11
Prediction: Trump wrote in his 2000 book, "The America We Deserve," that a terrorist threat would befallen the United States larger than the World Trade Center bombing on Feb. 26, 1993, That attack occurred below the North Tower — and it killed six people and injured hundreds.
"I really am convinced we're in danger of the sort of terrorist attacks that will make the bombing of the Trade Center look like kids playing with firecrackers," Trump wrote. "No sensible analyst rejects this possibility, and plenty of them, like me, are not wondering if but when it will happen."
He also predicted that weapons of mass destruction would be used against an American city and advised the U.S. government to infiltrate terrorist groups.
Outcome: Nineteen al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four U.S. airplanes on
Sept. 11, 2001, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York — destroying the landmark — and one at the Pentagon.
Passengers brought down the last plane in Shanksville, Pa., killing everyone aboard.
Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks, including 343 firefighters and 72 police officers.
Osama bin Laden
Prediction: In the same 2000 book, Trump said this of
Osama bin Laden:
"One day we're told that a shadowy figure with no fixed address named Osama bin-Laden is public enemy number one, and U.S. jetfighters lay waste to his camp in Afghanistan.
"He escapes back under some rock, and a few news cycles later it's on to a new enemy and new crisis."
Outcome: Bin Laden evaded efforts to kill him in the aftermath of 9/11 for almost a decade. Bin Laden reportedly escaped from his Afghanistan camp and hid in Pakistan. U.S. Special Forces and Navy SEALs killed bin Laden, al-Qaida's founder, in a pre-dawn raid on his compound in Pakistan on May 2, 2011.
Iraq War and the Rise of the Islamic State
Prediction: In a 2004 interview for Esquire magazine, Trump said that he would fire the Bush administration for its handling of the invasion of Iraq the year before, adding:
"… Two minutes after we leave, there's going to be a revolution, and the meanest, toughest, smartest, most vicious guy will take over. And he'll have weapons of mass destruction, which Saddam [Hussein] didn't have," Trump said.
Outcome: Hussein was toppled and later executed — and 4,491 U.S. service members were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2014.
President Barack Obama pulled out the last U.S. troops in December 2011, which led to the rise of
ISIS. The U.S. began airstrikes on the terrorist group there in June 2014.
Another Saddam has not arisen, but ISIS has seized a significant swathe of Iraq and has beheaded many Westerners, including journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff — even beheaded four children who refused to rebuke their Christianity — and planned and carried out the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 and injured more than 350 others.
Syrian Refugees and ISIS
Prediction: In an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation" last month, Trump slammed President Obama's plan to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees into the country over the next year, arguing that they could be a recruiting ground for ISIS.
"This could be the greatest Trojan horse," Trump said. "This could make the
Trojan horse look like peanuts if these people turned out to be a lot of ISIS."
Outcome: Two of the ISIS attackers linked to the Paris assaults had entered Greece as Syrian refugees. Attacks targeted a soccer game, a concert and restaurants.
American Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, a student at California State in Long Beach who was studying design, was among those who died in the violence.
The ISIS terrorists were killed by French authorities.
Vice President Joe Biden and the Democratic Nomination
Prediction: Trump told "Face the Nation" in August that the email scandal engulfing front-runner Hillary Clinton would be "a devastating blow" and that
Vice President Joe Biden "would have a good chance of beating her now" if he ran.
But Trump cautioned that Biden's loyalty to President Obama would make running difficult because "there's a lot of anger with respect to President Obama and that would include Joe Biden because nothing's been done.
"I think it's not going to be easy for him," Trump said.
Outcome: Biden said last month that he would not enter the Democratic sweepstakes.
Apple's iPhone and Stock Value
The Republican front-runner started tweeting predictions on
Apple's iPhone and its stock value as early as 2013.
Here are some of the Twitter posts, according to Fortune magazine:
"I have a lot of @Apple stock—and I miss Steve Jobs. Tim Cook must immediately increase the size of the screen on the iPhone. It should be slightly larger than the Samsung screen—and they better get it right fast because they will lose a lot of business. I like the larger screen." April 29, 2013.
"I can't believe Apple isn't moving faster to create a larger iPhone screen. Bring back Steve Jobs!" July 24, 2013
"I wonder if Apple is upset with me for hounding them to produce a large screen iPhone. I hear they will be doing it soon—long overdue." March 24, 2014
Apple introduced the iPhone 6, and it larger-screened and iPhone 6 Plus, five and a half months later, Fortune reports.
But Trump isn't the only GOP candidate whose predictions have come true.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio prognosticated at the second Republican debate in September that Russian President Vladimir Putin would step up his aggression in Syria.
"It's pretty straightforward: He wants to reposition Russia once again as a geopolitical force," Rubio said at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. "He himself said that the fall of the Soviet Union, the destruction of the Soviet Union, was the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century.
"And now he's trying to reverse that," Rubio added. "He is exploiting a vacuum that this administration has left in the Middle East.
"Here's what you're going to see in the next few weeks: The Russians will begin to fly combat missions in that region — not just targeting ISIS, but in order to prop up Assad."
Rubio turned out to be dead on. Russia began airstrikes in Syria in September, saying that it was targeting Islamic State terrorists.