Bet On Impeachment: Oddsmakers Give Donald Trump Little Chance Of Surviving 2018 As President
Donald Trump has already had an eventful 2018. He began the year with a lavish (and very expensive) New Year’s Eve party in the banquet room at Mar-a-Lago, then woke up Monday morning and fired off tweets aggressively aimed at the leaders of Iran and Pakistan. According to the oddsmakers at Irish gambling website Paddy Power, however, Trump should enjoy his time being the president while it lasts because the odds are extremely high that he will be impeached.
According to an article in Newsweek, Paddy Power believes that chances are almost twice as likely that Donald Trump will be impeached as that he will finish one four-year term in office, with the odds today being a 4-7 bet on impeachment. To make matters worse for the president, the Irish oddsmakers have named 2018 as the year impeachment is most likely to happen, with the odds for this year at an almost even 5-4.
The Newsweek article goes on to say that the two factors leading to such high odds for the president to be removed from office are the Mueller investigation, which could produce some kind of bombshell smoking gun in 2018 tying Trump to Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election that causes Republicans in Congress to rethink their support of Trump’s agenda, and also the possibility of big Democratic gains during the 2018 midterm elections that place them in a position to begin impeachment proceedings without much help from the GOP.
President Trump, on the other hand, seems to have very high hopes for the coming year. According to Time magazine, he spoke to reporters at his New Year’s Eve ball at Mar-a-Lago, flanked by his wife Melania and son Barron, and predicted a “fantastic 2018.” He didn’t even seem particularly concerned when asked about North Korea supreme leader Kim Jong Un’s comment earlier in the evening that he kept the nuclear button next to him on his desk.
The Time article goes on to say that Trump had finished out 2018 by posting a video that paints a very glowing picture of what his followers can expect in the coming year and ended the video with a particularly rosy New Year’s message.
“What a year it’s been, and we’re just getting started. Together, we are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Happy New Year!!”
Trump also launched a New Year’s Eve tweet in his usual brash style, aimed in part at one of the groups he has done battle with in 2017.
As our Country rapidly grows stronger and smarter, I want to wish all of my friends, supporters, enemies, haters, and even the very dishonest Fake News Media, a Happy and Healthy New Year. 2018 will be a great year for America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2017
Moreover, according to an article in Politico, the president spent time at the end of the year with Rick Scott, the Republican governor of Florida, in an effort to convince him to run against Bill Nelson, Florida’s incumbent Democrat senator.
One thing’s for certain, regardless of whether or not Donald Trump survives the year as president. Odds are that 2018 is going to be just as interesting as the year before.
