Bernie Sanders would like nothing more than to debate Donald Trump, one-on-one, on national television. And his campaign manager says there have already been discussions with every TV network.
It all began when Trump was asked on a late night talk show if he was prepared to debate Sanders before the California primary.
"Yes I am. How much is he going to pay me?" Trump asked on Jimmy Kimmel Live. "If I debated him, we would have such high ratings, I should take that money and give it to some worthy charity."
It didn't take long for Sanders to respond on Twitter.
"Game on," he tweeted. "I look forward to debating Donald Trump."
"I'll certainly watch it," said Democratic analyst Kevin Franck. "I might even throw a little party and have friends over. I think it would be really entertaining."
Franck says while the debate would undoubtedly draw enormous viewership, it may not make much sense for either candidate. 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.
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"If Bernie Sanders has a terrible debate with Donald Trump, this is how the world will remember him," Franck said.
Sanders supporter Phil Johnston says it all makes for very odd dynamic. He's is confident Sanders would come out a winner, given that he's tied with Clinton in the latest California poll and he beats Trump by a greater margin in every state poll.
And Johnston says he would have the viewers on his side when it came to policy and substance.
"See whether or not Trump knows anything about any of the issues that Bernie's been talking about," Johnston said.
As the debate buzz grew Thursday, the Trump campaign seemed to backtrack, saying Trump had been joking. 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'd love to debate Bernie, he's a dream," Trump said. "It should be in a big arena somewhere and we could have a lot of fun with it. I'd love to debate Bernie actually, I mean, the problem with debating Bernie is he's going to lose."
Sanders sees it differently. He said today that if he can win in California and the other five states up for grabs on June 7th, he will win the Democratic nomination. Not the words of a candidate looking to help unite the party anytime soon.
