From length of Biden's inauguration speech and words used to color of Kamala Harris's suit, bookmakers make hay
With the inauguration day just around the corner for President-elect Joe Biden to officially become the 46th President of the United States, tensions remain high in the country as federal authorities continue tracking down the rioters who were involved in the failed insurrection attempt at the Capitol Hill on January 6. The FBI has also raised concerns of national security threats, meaning that Biden's inauguration ceremony will be held under a more somber environment compared to previous Inauguration days.
While people cannot travel to Washington DC to attend the ceremony in person, many are wondering about a few details of the event, and sportsbooks are offering political betting odds for inauguration props for Biden's swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday, January 20. The ceremony is set to be a star-studded affair -- Tom Hanks will be hosting and the ceremony will feature performances from Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez.
So, what do the betting odds suggest? One of the aspects being bet on is the length of Joe Biden's inauguration speech. According to Rohit Ponnaiya of Nexstar Media Wire, most people are betting on Biden's speech being between 15 to 20 minutes. He suggests that while Biden will not rush through his speech like his immediate predecessor, his speech will be shorter than former President Barack Obama's -- one of his two inauguration speeches had even crossed the 20-minute mark.
Another aspect being bet on is the words that will be used in Biden's speech. Unsurprisingly, the word with most odds in its favor is "pandemic". His team has already laid out a plan for their response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which will kickstart on his first days in the office. People also think that it will be likely that Biden will mention "China" and "Russia." Among the words least likely to appear in his speech are "Trump," "Impeached," "Kennedy," and his childhood hometown, Scranton.
A more contentious aspect among the bets is on what color Biden's tie will be. The President-elect is often seen donning blue ties -- as he did for both the 2009 and 2013 inaugurations -- a color often associated with the Democratic Party. As such, bets concur that Biden will most likely wear a blue tie. However, there might be a good chance that Biden will sport a red tie as he has shown to occasionally do so.
Biden's Vice President-elect Kamala Harris's suit also comes under a similar bet with respect to which color she will don. Harris often wears suits of blue and white shades, and as such, white seems to be the betting favorite. Closely following are suits in the colors blue/navy, and black, brown/maroon/beige.
Biden is expected to take the oath of office at 12 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 20. The theme of the inauguration will be “America United”. Commenting on this year’s theme The Presidential Inaugural Committee said it “reflects the beginning of a new national journey that restores the soul of America, brings the country together, and creates a path to a brighter future.”