INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Bernie Sanders ‘Game’ To Debate Donald Trump In California Before Primary Race

By Ernie Howell
Published on: 22:00 PST, May 26, 2016

Donald Trump responded to a late-night talk show question from Democratic presidential nominee Bernie Sanders, telling the audience on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! program that Trump would accept an invitation to debate Sanders before the California primaries in June under one condition.

The condition — as The New York Times reported on Thursday — was that Bernie “pay” Donald for the made-for-TV public debate. As Trump went on to explain, the presumptive nominee for the Republican party wanted to put that money made off the Bernie debate to a special cause.

“The price if I debated him, we would have such high ratings, and I think I should give, take that money and give to some worthy charity, okay? If he paid a nice sum toward a charity, I would love to do that.”

During a campaign stop Thursday in North Dakota, Donald Trump put the asking price for a debate against Bernie Sanders at $10-15 million being donated to a charity. He also said he has been approached by TV networks about hosting the potential debate should an agreement be reached between the two parties.

Thursday morning, Bernie Sanders responded to Donald Trump via Twitter, telling the billionaire that he was ready to debate the presumptive Republican nominee before June 7, 2016.

Bernie revved up the rhetoric surrounding a potential debate with Donald Trump, as Sanders had his campaign manager openly discuss the situation on CNN Thursday afternoon. Telling TV personality Wolf Blitzer that he hoped Donald Trump wouldn’t change his mind, Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver made it clear his candidate was serious about having this debate.

“We are ready to debate Donald Trump. We hope he will not chicken out. I think it will be great for America to see these two candidates and the different visions they have for America going forward. What we’ll have to see, Wolf, is does Donald Trump have the courage to get on the stage with Bernie Sanders. That remains to be seen.”

Jimmy Kimmel laid the groundwork for his debate question to Donald Trump by asking the Republican candidate which of his cross-party hopefuls — Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders — he liked most. His answered, saying it depended on who Donald Trump thought he could beat in the general election, but he then went on, complimenting the fight Bernie Sanders has shown throughout the Democratic primary race.

“Well, I actually think that Bernie would be easier to beat, even though he shows up a little better in the polls, and I may be wrong. But what I do like about Bernie is that, when he loses because the system is rigged against him, totally, just like it was rigged against me. I mean the system is rigged. And if I didn’t win by massive landslides every state, there was no chance that I could have won. He’s sorta having the same thing… I think it’s very unfair what is happening to Bernie Sanders, actually.”

Donald Trump admitted that he had “never had the privilege” to meet Bernie Sanders. Despite not having met, the two politicians share some common experiences. One such instance was both individuals appearing on Saturday Night Live during the show’s past season. Sanders appeared briefly during an episode his doppelgänger, Larry David, hosted in February, The Inquisitr previously reported.

Donald Trump had a much longer — and controversial — appearance on SNL when he hosted an episode in November of 2015. Trump had numerous funny bits during the 90-minute episode, including a parody of the popular Drake song “Hotline Bling” featuring Martin Short. The show earned its highest ratings of the season for SNL, proving that Donald could be on to something about how high ratings could jump for a debate between himself and Bernie Sanders.

The controversy sprang up as protesters lined up outside the SNL studio over comments Donald Trump had made about immigration and hispanics. A Latino-based advocacy group offered a $5,000 reward for any individual that called Donald a racist during the program, and Larry David — in one of his first appearances as Bernie Sanders on the show — cashed in on the controversy over Trump during the monologue, The Inquisitr reported.

What do you think about Donald Trump agreeing to debate Bernie Sanders on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show Wednesday night? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Photos by John Sommers II & Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

Share this article: Bernie Sanders ‘Game’ To Debate Donald Trump In California Before Primary Race
hillary clinton jimmy kimmel bernie sanders Donald Trump
More from Inquisitr