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Joe Biden's odds on being reelected as president in November lengthened substantially following the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur's report into his handling of classified documents on Thursday, according to a leading bookmaker.
Hur, a Donald Trump appointee, decided not to charge Biden after the president's cooperation, and he said there wasn't enough evidence to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. However, in a move that infuriated the White House, he cast doubt on Biden's mental state, saying the president would present himself as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," if taken to court.
On Thursday, before the report was released, U.K.-based bookmakers Betfair had the odds on Biden securing reelection at 2/1. However, this changed on Friday to 14/5. Newsweek contacted the White House press office by email at 5:30 a.m. ET on Saturday. This article will be updated if a spokesperson decides to comment.
Notably Donald Trump's odds of winning in November increased only slightly after the report came out, indicating some believe Biden will be replaced by another Democratic candidate. Trump started with odds of securiing victory of 5/4, before the report was released on Thursday, which shortened slightly to 6/5, on Friday.
By contrast, the odds on other potential Democratic presidential contenders improved after Hur's report was published, with former first lady Michelle Obama going from 13/1 to 11/1 and California Governor Gavin Newsom shifting from 25/1 to 17/1.
Neither Obama nor Newsom has announced any plan to run for the White House, and the California governor has already endorsed Biden.
Just hours after the released of Hur's report, Biden held a press conference in which he said "I know what the hell I'm doing."
The visibly angry president also hit out at Hur's claim that Biden couldn't remember when his son, Beau Biden, had died. He said: "I don't need anyone, anyone, to remind me when he passed away. How the hell dare he raise that."
However, during the same press conference, Biden sparked mockery by appearing to confuse the presidents of Mexico and Egypt.
Biden said: "As you know, initially, the president of Mexico, el-Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in." Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is the Egyptian president, with Andrés Manuel López Obrador serving as Mexico's.
Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom told Newsweek: "Biden has been a fairly significant drifter in the Election Winner market, but this report, compounded by another memory lapse, is seeing punters viewing Trump as the safer bet with their money.
"We are also seeing lots of interest from bettors on other potential Democrat candidates too," Rosbottom added. "Vice President Kamala Harris and former first lady Michelle Obama have been by far the most popular out of the potential list of replacements on the democratic ticket."
Trump responded with fury to Hur's decision not to prosecute Biden. He wrote on his Truth Social website: "THIS HAS NOW PROVEN TO BE A TWO-TIERED SYSTEM OF JUSTICE AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL SELECTIVE PROSECUTION! The Biden Documents Case is 100 times different and more severe than mine. I did nothing wrong, and I cooperated far more. What Biden did is outrageously criminal."
Trump has pled not guilty to 40 federal charges related to allegations he mishandled classified documents after leaving the White House. Unlike Biden, the former president is also accused of obstructing efforts to get the documents returned to the proper authorities, as well as holding onto them.
The Republican presidential frontrunner has strongly denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly said the case is part of a political witch hunt against him.
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About the writer
James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is on covering news and politics ... Read more