…Some Nigerians rally for Trump, despite calling Nigeria shithole
…Gambler stakes N600million on Biden’s victory
Ibe Pascal Arogorn with Agency report
U.S. President Donald Trump has clarified reports that he intended to declare victory on Tuesday night, ahead of the full counting of votes.
In an audio interview with Fox News on Tuesday, he said he would only declare victory ‘when there’s a victory’.
The controversial president predicts he will win reelection with more Electoral College votes than in 2016.
‘So my number last time was 306,’ Trump said when the ‘Fox & Friends’ panel asked him how many Electoral College votes he thinks he will earn.
‘I ended up with 306, that was good numbers – 223-306,’ he said in reference to the outcome against Hillary Clinton in 2016 – but the Democratic candidate actually earned 232 not 223.
And that was a big number,’ the president said. ‘And I think we will top it. I’ll leave it at that. I think we’ll top it.’
According to Cook Political Report, Trump likely holds around 163 Electoral College votes as of now out of those states that are solid, likely and lean Republican.
If he were to win all of the Electoral College votes of the states that are deemed a ‘toss up,’ his total would move up to 248.
This means he would need to earn 58 votes from solid, likely or lean Democrats states to even reach the threshold he won in 2016.
When Trump was asked during the call-in interview when he will declare he has won the election, the president said ‘only when there’s victory.’
Some Nigerians rally for Trump, despite calling Nigeria shithole
Hundreds of Nigerian men and women marched, clad in T-shirts supporting U.S. President Donald Trump, as they waved American flags, Republican presidential campaign signs, and even a few Nigerian flags.
The rally, was not in the United States, but in Onitsha, a city in Anambra, eastern Nigeria.
The show of support to Trump was despite the American leaders racist reputation.
Trump has disparaged African nations, including Nigeria, calling them “shithole countries”.
He had said Africans would never leave the United States if allowed in.
This year, he slammed visa curbs on Nigeria and five other countries.
But some Nigerians love the bombastic 45th U.S. president all the same.
“President Trump, may we shout for joy over your victory,” Rev. Daddy Hezekiah of the Living Christ Mission Inc., which organized the Oct. 25 rally, said in a video.
A Pew Research Center poll in January found that 58% of Nigerians had confidence in Trump, behind only Israel, the Philippines and Kenya.
A 2020 Gallup poll showed 56% of Nigerians approved of U.S. leadership, versus 24% for Europeans.
In a posh Lagos eatery, a portrait of Trump in a gold-trimmed red agbada, a flowing robe worn by Yoruba men, hangs on the wall.
The traditional clothing is a “mark of respect”, said artist Peter Udoakang.
“I made this painting to bring him closer to us,” said the 23-year-old.
He added that Trump’s “radical” approach to governing appealed to Nigerians, who are used to hustling in a tough economy to survive.
On a busy Lagos road, driver Michael Onyeonoro said if Nigeria found a similar leader, the U.S. visa troubles might not matter.
“If we have a person like Trump…Nigeria will be a better place to stay,” Onyeonoro said.
“There will be no need of going outside the country.”
Gambler stakes N600million on Biden’s victory
A gambler in the United Kingdom has staked a £1 million, or $1.29 million or N600million bet on Joe Biden to be the next president in the United States.
The bet was placed on the Betfair Exchange, the world’s largest online betting exchange, where gamblers find other gamblers who match their wagers.
The identity of the bettor, who placed the wager on October 29, is not known.
He would win a £540,000 ($696,170) profit on top of getting the original £1 million wager returned.
Oddsmakers put Biden’s chance of winning at 65%, and Trump’s chances at 35%.
That’s slightly better odds for Trump than the 2-to-1 odds last week. And it’s much better than the 10% chance of Trump winning according to FiveThirtyEight.
CNN reports that the £1 million wager is tied for the third-largest bet in Betfair’s history.
It is smaller than the £1.1 million bet on tennis player Rafael Nadal in the 2010 French Open, and slightly more than £1 million bet on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his 2017 match against Conor McGregor.
The bets are flowing into Betfair at a record pace, with £274 million, or $353 million, having been recorded by Monday morning.
And it takes several days for a bet that has been made to show up in the data, which is why the October 29 bet has only now become known.
So the total wagering on the vote is likely well above that level.
Since Betfair will allow bettors to keep wagering until a winner is declared, there could be days more betting, if not more, as vote counting goes on.
Betfair is estimating total US presidential election wagers on its exchange will top £400 million, or twice what was wagered in 2016.
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