Bernie Sanders is helping stoke talk of a debate between him and Donald Trump, telling ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday night that the network had contacted the Vermont senator about a matchup between himself and the presumptive GOP nominee.
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“Hillary Clinton backed out of an agreement to debate me in California before the June 7 primary”, Kimmel asked on Sanders’ behalf, imitating Sanders’ voice for part of the question. Trump, he says, should be focused on his likely general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, and Sanders should beware of the risks involved given Trump’s record of taking down his opponents.
“I had no idea it was going to be so nasty”, said Trump, who said he’d be happy to engage Sanders in a one-on-one debate – as long as significant money goes to charity.
Minutes later, Sanders responded on Twitter.
Trump, who on Thursday crossed the threshold of delegates needed to secure the party’s presidential nomination, seemed to waver on his willingness to debate Sanders after initially doubling down on them at a morning press conference in North Dakota, where he said: “I’d love to debate Bernie – he’s a dream”.
Having asked Trump a question from Sanders the night before, Kimmel turned to Sanders Thursday night to ask him a question Trump wanted to ask.
“Game on”, Sanders tweeted.
For Sanders, a debate with Trump would provide a burst of publicity ahead of the contest in California, where he is in a tight race with Clinton. “I think it will be great for America to see these two candidates and the different visions they have for America going forward”, Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. But by late afternoon, Trump was doubling down on his position, saying the 10 or 15 million dollars raised by the networks could go toward women’s health issues. I think it would get very high ratings. “Are you prepared to debate the largest issues facing the state and country before the California primary, yes or no”. “I really can’t wait to get on the stage with him”, she told CNN in a phone interview.
Kelly McBride, a journalistic ethics expert and vice president at the Poynter Institute, said the idea of a charitable donation as a requirement “creates the perception of a conflict of interest but I don’t think it creates a real conflict of interest”.
Sanders, who faces a big delegate deficit against Clinton, was quick to sign on.
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California. She changed her mind and that’s a bit unfair to the people of California.
