Will Trump Be Impeached Or Resign? Betting Odds Say Greatest Chance Yet

In the wake of the attacks in Charlottesville, Virginia, this week and a wave of criticism against President Donald Trump, at least one betting site says the chances of Trump getting impeached or resigning have never been higher. Paddy Power offered odds of 2/1 for Trump to be impeached this year.

The odds come following Tony Schwartz's prediction that the president would resign by the end of the year. Schwartz, who ghost wrote Trump's 1987 memoir "The Art of the Deal," took to Twitter Wednesday to say Trump would likely leave office himself to save face.

"Trump is going to resign and declare victory before Mueller and Congress leave him no choice," said Schwartz. "Trump's presidency is effectively over. Would be amazed if he survives till the end of the year. More likely he resigns by fall, if not sooner."

Paddy Power said Schwartz's prediction signaled the change in odds.

"Tony Schwartz spent 18 months with Trump when helping ghost-write his memoir and while that must have been totally unbearable, it also means he knows The Donald pretty well," the betting site said. "After an awful week for the president that has seen other issues like North Korea pushed into the shadows, it's no surprise punters are latching onto the fact Trump might call it a day."

The president came under fire this week for what many felt was an inadequate response to the violence in Charlottesville. After a counter-protester was killed while opposing an alt-right rally, Trump said there was "blame on both sides."

"I will tell you something," he said at a press conference Tuesday. "I watched this very closely, much more closely than you people watched it and you have, you had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I'll say it right now. You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent."

White House officials and Trump himself defended the comments, but the backlash was swift and fierce. Former Vice President Al Gore called on the president to resign. A number of administration officials resigned from their posts in protest over Trump's response. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's rabbi publicly denounced the remarks in a letter to their congregation.

A poll released Thursday by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 40 percent of Americans supported impeaching Trump. The numbers mark a 10 point jump from February. Seventy-two percent of Democrats said Trump should be impeached, while 38 percent of Independent's supported impeachment. Only seven percent of Republicans, however, said the same.

"Trump must be isolated," Schwartz said Wednesday. "Resistance every day. The end is near but must keep pressure high."