Tag: Biden

  • US 2020: Trump vs Biden: the bookmakers’ $1 billion election

    US 2020: Trump vs Biden: the bookmakers’ $1 billion election

    The US presidential election is proving a boon for bookmakers, with estimates that more than $1 billion has already been bet on the winner around the world even before polling day.

    Matthew Shaddick, head of political betting at British sports betting and gambling firm GVC, said that is double the amount in 2016, when Donald Trump upset the odds and polls to beat Hillary Clinton.

    Republican party candidate Trump is once again the outsider, with his Democratic challenger Joe Biden the favourite with GVC’s gaming brands, which include Labrokes, Coral and BWin.x

    Its rival, William Hill, also has former vice-president Biden tipped for victory.

    “This is a huge market,” Shaddick told AFP. “It is twice as big as 2016, easily making it the biggest political event ever.

    “It might be the biggest ever market on anything pretty much and outstrip football worldwide. I guess a billion pounds ($1.3 billion, 1.1 billion euros) is being bet.”

    William Hill said they also expect the election to be easily its biggest event of the year, given the cancellation of money-spinners such as the Grand National due to Covid-19.

    “We are already over £3 million and expect to take £10 million,” said Hill’s international spokesman Rupert Adams.

    “We predict that this will be the biggest wagering event of 2020. The figures are simply astounding and include all sporting events.”

    For Adams, the huge amounts laid on Tuesday’s vote are largely down to the love-him-or-loathe-him personality of Trump.

    “There is no doubt the fact he is such a colourful character makes it appealing for people who would otherwise be uninterested,” he added.

    “If it was Jeb Bush versus Biden, we would be taking a third of the turnover.”

    ‘Social media bubble’
    Biden may be favourite but Shaddick said 70 percent of bets placed this week have been for Trump, calling the level of confidence in him winning “astonishing”.

    “A whole new universe of bettors won last time. These are people who go for their gut feelings and instincts,” he said.

    “Biden is a clear bookies’ favourite still with about a 65 percent chance to win but it is way out of line with polling forecasting which would give Trump a 10 percent chance.

    “The betting markets give Trump a 35-45 percent chance. Betting markets take a different view. It is a much more pro-Trump market.”

    Shaddick, though, said it is a misnomer that opinion polls favouring Clinton over Trump were way off in 2016.

    “The polls were not far off and Trump needs much bigger polling to win this time round. The bettors do not seem to care,” he said.x

    “They believe there are millions of shy Trump voters.”

    Shaddick believes bookies generally overrate the chances of populist candidates globally, which drives betting that Trump and his like will fare more favourably at the ballot box.

    Much of the money placed on the real estate tycoon turned politician comes from people who seek their information from sources other than the media or political experts, he said.

    “The truth is there is a very large section of people round the world who prefer to rely on a social media bubble,” he added.

    “Clearly, they do not care about the polls. Some think they are fake or the polls miss out millions of Trump supporters. It is incredible the confidence they have on that side of Trump winning.

    “On the other side, the liberal left are still traumatised by him winning and they do not want to risk their money.

    “Those are two different psychological factors so I would prefer to trust the polls than the betting markets.”

  • US Election: Trump says he won’t do virtual debate against Biden after debate commission changes rules

    US Election: Trump says he won’t do virtual debate against Biden after debate commission changes rules

    US President Donald Trump on Thursday October 8, said that he would not participate in the second televised debate with Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, next week after the commission responsible for producing the debate forums announced that it will be conducted virtually due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

    “I’m not going to waste my time on virtual debate. That’s not what debating is all about,” Trump said in an interview on Fox Business on Thursday October 8.

     “You sit behind a computer and do a debate. It’s ridiculous, and then they cut you off whenever they want.”

    I?m not going to waste my time

    Trump’s remarks come after the Commission on Presidential Debates(CPD) revealed Thursday morning that the town hall-style event on Oct. 15 would feature the two candidates participating virtually “from separate remote locations.”

    According to the CPD the town hall participants and moderator Steve Scully of C-SPAN will be located as planned at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

    The shift to a virtual format was necessitated due to Trump’s recovery from Covid-19 at the White House, days after being discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical center.

    Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien reaffirmed the president’s position in a statement, saying Trump will “pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead.”

    According to Stepien, Trump “will have posted multiple negative tests prior to the debate,” and insisted that the “safety of all involved can easily be achieved without canceling a chance for voters to see both candidates go head to head.”

    In her own statement, Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield suggested the former vice president would take part in the virtual event, saying that Biden “looks forward to speaking directly to the American people.”

    Trump had previously signaled that he intended to take part in the debate despite his diagnosis, tweeting Tuesday that he was “looking forward” to the forum on Oct. 15 and that it “will be great!”

    On Tuesday October 6, Biden said that “we shouldn’t have a debate” if Trump remains infected with the coronavirus.

    The commission announced last week it was  exploring alternative formats for next week’s debate in the aftermath of the first clash between Trump and Biden — which saw the president repeatedly interrupt his Biden and moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News.

    The commission announced last week that the first debate demonstrated the need for “additional structure” in the format of the remaining forums to “ensure a more orderly discussion.”

    Sean Conley, the president’s personal physician, reported in a memo Wednesday that Trump has “been fever-free for more than 4 days, symptom-free for over 24 hours, and has not needed nor received any supplemental oxygen since initial hospitalization.”

  • Trump, Biden clash in chaotic first presidential debate

    Trump, Biden clash in chaotic first presidential debate

    US President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday night clashed in the first presidential debate described by commentators as chaotic and messy.

    The 90-minute encounter was characterised by frequent interruptions, mostly from Trump, and insults, with Biden calling the President a clown.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    Fox News anchor and moderator of the night, Chris Wallace, had a hard time controlling both candidates, who talked over each other.

    Trump of the Republican Party and Biden of the opposition Democratic Party squared off on the coronavirus pandemic, taxes, crime, the economy, climate change, election integrity, among others.

    Here are some key moments of the encounter hosted by the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

    “Will you shut up, man? This is so unpresidential”, Biden responded as Trump interrupted him while answering a question on the president’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Barrett.

    During the COVID-19 segment, Trump told Biden to stop using the word “smart” because there was nothing smart about him.

    “Did you use the word smart? So, you said you went to Delaware State (University) but you forgot the name of your college.

    “You didn’t go to Delaware State (University). You graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class.

    “Don’t ever use the word smart with me because you know what, there is nothing smart about you,” Trump said.

    As the debate got heated with Trump interrupting Biden, the moderator urged the President to allow his rival finish and then get the final word on the economy segment

    “Biden responded: “No, it is hard to get any word in with this clown”.

    One of the most remarkable moments was when the moderator asked the President if he was willing to condemn white supremacists and armed groups fueling violence in the country.

    Trump said he was willing to do that but quickly noted that the violence he had seen was from the left wing.

    Challenged to condemn them, he insisted that the opposition was responsible for the violence protests across the country and not white supremacists.

    Trump renewed his attacks on mail-in ballot, describing it as a disaster and adding that it would be a fraud on a scale never seen before.

    Asked if he would refrain from declaring victory until the election results were officially announced, Trump said he would only “go along with that” if the exercise was credible.

    Biden dismissed the president’s threat, saying there was nothing he could do once the results were announced and he lost.

  • US 2020: Biden explodes as Trump calls his agenda ‘made in China’

    US 2020: Biden explodes as Trump calls his agenda ‘made in China’

    President Donald Trump’s labeling of Joe Biden’s agenda as “made in China” has provoked a salvo of disparaging responses.

    During last night’s Republican National Convention, Trump said no one will be safe under a Biden presidency.

    “Joe Biden’s agenda is ‘made in China.’ My agenda is ‘made in the USA’. Joe Biden is not a saviour of America’s soul, he is a destroyer of America’s jobs.”

    In a series of tweets on Friday, Biden condemned the President for his comments.

    He suggested that Trump’s speech while receiving his party’s nomination was empty.

    The former Vice President insisted that statistics oppose Trump’s re-election ambition.

    Biden mocked his rival on job claims, adding that the people cannot endure another four years of a Republican administration.

    He said: “When Donald Trump says tonight you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America, look around and ask yourself: How safe do you feel in Donald Trump’s America?

    “180,000 lives lost; Nearly 6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19; Over 25 million Americans out of work; Countless small businesses on the brink of closing. That’s Donald Trump’s America. We’re living it every day. We can’t take four more years.

    “When President Trump took office, he inherited a growing economy from the Obama-Biden administration. And just like everything else, he’s inherited in his life, he squandered it.

    “Donald Trump calls himself a wartime president. But now, instead of leading the charge to defeat this virus, he’s waved the white flag. He abandoned the American people when we needed him most.

    “From the moment COVID-19 emerged, President Trump downplayed the threat it posed, refused to listen to the experts, and failed to take action to contain its spread. Now, we’re paying the price.

    “Donald Trump promised to be the greatest jobs president God ever created. Instead, tens of millions of Americans are out of work, and we’re facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. #PromisesBroken.”

    Trump, 74, and Biden, 77, will slug it out at the polls on November 3.

  • Biden’s first campaign fundraiser with Obama raises $4 million

    Biden’s first campaign fundraiser with Obama raises $4 million

    U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s first 2020 fundraiser with former President Barack Obama has netted more than $4 million from more than 120,000 people, ahead of their joint appearance on Tuesday, the campaign said.

    The virtual event could amount to Biden’s largest haul from small-dollar donors and comes on the heels of the Democratic Party and his campaign out-raising President Donald Trump in May for the first time, $80.8 million to $74 million.

    The Republican president, who has been campaigning for a second term since 2017, still has a spending advantage, ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election.

    Trump’s campaign, party and other fundraising entities had $265 million in cash at the end of May.

    The Democrats and Biden, who launched his campaign in April 2019, held a combined $122 million, not including some fundraising entities that have not disclosed their records.

    Early in the 2020 campaign, Biden’s weak fundraising numbers compared to some of his Democratic competitors were a source of concern.

    But he has seen his fundraising from donors pick up in recent weeks as his lead in national opinion polls grew and the country reacted to incidents of police brutality.

    The event on Tuesday also shows the drawing power of Obama.

    He endorsed Biden, his former vice-president, in April but has not been actively campaigning for Biden as in-person events were largely canceled, due to the coronavirus.

    The Biden campaign is hoping to come close to matching Trump’s war chest so it can counter his advertising, get-out-the-vote operations in battleground states, and eventual campaign travel with their own.

    A high-dollar fundraising event held last week for Biden with 620 donors and hosted by Sen. Elizabeth Warren took in $6 million, the most ever for Biden’s campaign.(Reuters/NAN)