Former US president and 2024 Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump blasted his election rival Kamala Harris as a "grossly incompetent" radical who "destroyed" the United States
Donald Trump is back in the Polymarket game, leading Harris by 5% as of early Wednesday. AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Trump now leads Harris at 52% to 47% as of early Wednesday
  • The figures changed amid the ongoing Democratic National Convention
  • Scaramucci previously said Harris may lose if she doesn't make positive crypto statements after the convention

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has flipped the script on Polymarket, reclaiming the lead from Vice President Kamala Harris on the decentralized market prediction platform.

Trump's lead comes amid increasing calls on the Democratic presidential nominee to talk about her crypto views ahead of the elections and speculations that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may drop out of the race.

Trump leads amid Harris camp's deafening silence

Earlier this month, Harris took the huge lead from Trump amid concerns that the former president had not been campaigning as much as Harris did in recent weeks.

By early Wednesday, Trump has reclaimed the lead, with his odds climbing to 52% while Harris' chances dropped to 47%. When Harris was in the lead, her odds were also at 52%, while Trump was down to 45%.

Interestingly, Trump flipped the numbers even after ex-president Barack Obama endorsed Harris during the Democratic National Convention.

A bump from rumors surrounding RFK Jr.?

Some crypto users have expressed their thoughts about Trump's renewed lead, with one saying "honeymoon's over" for the Democratic leader.

One user said the shift could be "due to rumors that RFK Jr. is abandoning his campaign and joining Trump's team." Kennedy's running mate, Nicole Shanahan, revealed Tuesday that RFK Jr., a known Bitcoin advocate, is weighing whether or not he should drop his presidential bid to join forces with Trump.

Notably, Trump told CNN the same day that he was "certainly" open to the independent candidate getting a position in a second Trump administration if RFK Jr. drops out and endorses the business mogul, saying he likes and respects the nephew of the fallen John F. Kennedy.

Harris may lose without crypto views: Scaramucci

Prominent financier Anthony Scaramucci said in an interview last week that he believes "it's a very close election." He was then asked about whether he believes Harris and the Democratic Party are doing enough to woo crypto voters, especially with so much frustration in the industry over SEC Chair Gary Gensler's crackdown on crypto.

Scaramucci, a crypto advocate, said that if Harris "makes the positive crypto statements that I'm expecting after the convention," Gensler will probably be lose his position.

"If she doesn't make those statements, and she's lining up with the [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren minions, and she's siding with Warren, I think she's gonna lose the election," he added.

Scaramucci was among the speakers at a town hall last week organized by the new group Crypto4Harris that seeks to drive the "reset" Harris supposedly seeks with the crypto sector. He further revealed in that interview that he's been told Harris will make "pro-crypto, pro-Bitcoin" statements after the four-day Democratic convention.

Democratic platform adds fuel to the fire

The recently released lengthy platform of the Democratic Party seems to have fanned the flames surrounding the vice president as some key crypto figures questioned why crypto wasn't mentioned.

Ryan Sean Adams, the founder of crypto fund Mythos Capital, said it was "like spit on the face" of the crypto industry that the party failed to include crypto-related language in the platform.

On the other hand, some industry experts have said the move could be a positive one for the sector since the platform also didn't mention a crackdown on crypto firms.

Read more