Biden's remarks fuel Trump's odds as election tensions rise
The odds for Donald Trump in the betting markets have risen. This shift is said to be a reaction to President Joe Biden's statement, which, according to Republicans, described Trump voters as "garbage". However, Biden's words were a response to a shocking comment made during Trump's election rally in New York.
According to the American weekly "Newsweek", Biden's controversial remarks were linked to an appearance by right-wing comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who, during Trump's Sunday election rally in New York, called Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory an "island of garbage".
"The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been," Biden said on Tuesday during a video conference with the Latino organisation Voto Latino.
Biden's statement sparked a wave of criticism from Republicans. Marco Rubio, a senator from this party, commented that Biden was referring to "everyday Americans who love their country". Meanwhile, Karoline Leavitt from Trump's election committee noted that "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris don’t just hate President Trump, they despise the tens of millions of Americans who support him".
This statement was immediately compared to remarks made by the former Democratic presidential candidate in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton. "To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that and he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people, now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets offensive, hateful, mean-spirited rhetoric," Clinton said at the time during a meeting with LGBT activists in New York. Clinton subsequently lost the presidential race to Trump.
Biden explains what he meant
President Biden, clarifying his words on platform X, emphasised that they did not concern Trump voters themselves, but the hostile rhetoric used against Puerto Ricans. "Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage — which is the only word I can think of to describe it.... The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation," he explained.
In Wednesday's ranking, according to the "Newsweek" publication, bookmakers improved predictions in favour of Trump. His victory odds increased from 66.7% in November to 67.7% with Bet365 and 69.2% with Paddy Power.
The upcoming presidential elections are scheduled for 5 November. The latest polls indicate a tight race between Trump and his competitor, Kamala Harris.
