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Mark Zuckerberg's odds of winning 2020 election shorten

Commentary: Bookmaker Paddy Power now puts the Facebook CEO's chances of being the next US president ahead of Joe Biden's.

2 min read

 Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.


Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Delivers Commencement Address At Harvard

It's a little Julius Caesar, that haircut, isn't it?

Paul Marotta / Getty Images

He's merely out there meeting people.

Just, you know, so that he can actually see what (real) people are like.

For seemingly months now, Mark Zuckerberg has been holding impromptu meet and greets with ordinary Americans, some of whom appear to think: "Who on earth is this youth in a gray T-shirt?"

Naturally, though, there are those who suspect that all this signifies that the Facebook CEO has at least one cold eye fixed on the presidency. 

And the cold hearts of bookmakers seem to feel the same.

Take Paddy Power. It's just reduced the odds of a 2020 President Zuckerberg to 16/1. This is down from 25/1. 

If you're familiar with betting, you'll know that a few enterprising gamblers may have tossed a little money toward the (currently non-existent) Zuckerberg candidacy. 

Zuckerberg's representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. He has, though, insistently denied that he's interested in the role. 

But 16/1 puts him at shorter odds than former Vice President Joe Biden (18/1) and on the same level as actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose potential candidacy has also be the subject of heavy rumors

You might wonder, though, how this compares to President Trump's chances. Well, Paddy Power currently has Trump as the 5/2 favorite. 

He has no close challengers. Next in the betting are Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 15/2. Former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has drifted from 25/1 to 50/1, which puts her level with Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Of course, such a betting line offers Paddy Power -- which has its own Head of Trump Betting -- blessed publicity.

Still, should you need solid data, a recent study by Public Policy Polling offered that if Zuckerberg ran against Trump, they would be tied.

Some might worry, though, that Zuckerberg isn't quite ready for the sheer unpleasantness involved in running for president.

He'd be subject to insults the likes of which he's likely only ever seen on, well, Facebook and Twitter.

If Trump was his opponent, he'd surely tar Zuckerberg as "Robot Mark" or "Facebook No-Friend." He'd rattle him with suggestions that his haircut reminds him of Julius Caesar's.

I wish, though, to offer Zuckerberg some strategic advice. 

Mark, all you have to do is turn toward Trump and muse: "Do you know how much richer I am than you are?" 

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