US election: Donald Trump 7/4 favourite for White House return

Elsewhere, 16/1 says Michelle Obama follows in Barack’s footsteps.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “There’s every chance a familiar face will soon be back in the White House, with Donald Trump now leading the way to cause a huge upset in the political betting world next year.”

Trump skips debate to speak at Michigan car factory

Several of Trump’s rivals stepped up their attacks against him in the second Republican presidential debate, urgently trying to dent the former president’s commanding primary lead during an event that often seemed like an undercard without him.

Trump went to Michigan, aiming to capitalise on the carworkers’ strike in a key state that could help decide the general election.

The debate’s tone was far removed from a campaign that has been driven by Trump’s attacks on his rivals and democratic institutions as well as his grievances about a litany of criminal indictments and civil cases targeting him and his businesses.

The moderators did not ask about the indictments or why the people onstage were better qualified than Trump, instead posing questions about issues including education, economic policy and the US-Mexico border.

The candidates often went after Trump on their own, hoping to distinguish themselves at a critical moment with less than four months before the Iowa caucuses launch the presidential nomination process.

Trump has continued to dominate the field even as he faces a range of vulnerabilities, including four criminal cases that raise the prospect of decades in prison.

DeSantis slams absence of former president

“He should be on this stage tonight,” said Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is attempting to establish himself as the leading Trump alternative despite recent struggles to break out from the rest of the pack.

“He owes it to you to defend his record where they added 7.8 trillion US dollars to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation we have now,” he added.

Several others attacked Trump for not showing up, a departure from the first debate, when the field mostly lined up behind the former president.

DeSantis said just a few minutes into the debate that President Joe Biden was “completely missing in action from leadership. And you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action”.

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who has built his campaign around criticising Trump, said the former president “hides behind the walls of his golf clubs and won’t show up here to answer questions like all the rest of us are up here to answer”.

Even Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur who has declared Trump to be the “best president of the 21st century”, distanced himself and argued he was a natural successor.

“Yes, I will respect Donald Trump and his legacy because it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “But we will unite this country to take the America First agenda to the next level. And that will take a different generation to do it.”

Trump gave a lengthy prime-time speech in suburban Detroit that continued into the start of the debate.

The crowd booed when he referenced the debate.

Bullish Trump taunts rivals from afar

He joked “We’re competing with the job candidates”, and poked fun at his rivals for not drawing crowds as large as his.

Even hours before the debate began in Simi Valley, about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, the first group of supporters for any campaign to arrive waved Trump flags and put up a banner reading “Trump, our last hope for America and the world”.

His rivals seemed to sense his command over the field on Wednesday and did their best to change the direction of the race.

“Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself,” Christie said. “You’re ducking these things. And let me tell you what’s going to happen. You keep doing that, no one here’s going to call you Donald Trump anymore. We’re going to call you Donald Duck.”

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All odds and markets correct as of date of publication