Having been debate-shunned by Hillary "ain't got time for that" Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders agreed Wednesday night to debate presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Sanders, who was "disturbed but not surprised" that Hillary backed out of the California debate (ironic as Sanders is surging in polls ahead of the June 7th primary) enthusiastically tweeted "Game On" in response to Trump's agreement on Jimmy Kimmel Live to debate the Democrat contender, noting "it would have such high ratings." Imagine the protests outside of that event.
As NBC News reports, the two Presidential possibles agreed independently... On ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Trump was asked if he would consider holding a debate with Sanders. Trump agreed to the idea.
"If he paid a sum toward charity I would love to do that," said the business mogul, noting that a Sanders vs. Trump debate "would have such high ratings."
Sanders quickly responded with a tweet reading, "Game On. I look forward to debating Donald Trump in California before the June 7th primary."
Game on. I look forward to debating Donald Trump in California before the June 7 primary.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 26, 2016
This response was also a jab at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who this week declined to face off with Sanders in a previously agreed upon California debate.
Sanders said during a Santa Monica rally Monday that he was "disturbed but not surprised" that Clinton "backed out of the debate."
Clinton's communications director Jennifer Palmieri wrote in a statement that her candidate's time was "best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across California."
Perhaps it's time to rethink for the Clinton Campaign as Breitbart notes,
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has reached a statistical dead heat with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the latest poll - a stunning surge that threatens to snatch the California primary away from her even if she clinches the nomination June 7.
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll, conducted May 13 – 22 and released Wednesday, found: “Among Democratic primary likely voters, 46 percent support Clinton and 44 percent support Sanders. These voters include Democrats and independents who say they will vote in the Democratic primary. Clinton has a slight lead over Sanders among registered Democrats (49% to 41%).”
The East Bay Times noted the scale of Sanders’s comeback: “Sanders started the campaign a year ago trailing Clinton in California by more than 50 percentage points in early polls, but he had pared down her lead to single digits earlier this year. PPIC’s last poll in March found Sanders trailing by seven percentage points.”
Clinton is fewer than 80 delegates from the 2,383-delegate majority she needs to win a majority on the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July. However, she will have achieved that majority through the use of superdelegates — elected officials and party power-brokers who generally committed to Clinton well in advance of any votes.
And if she loses California, her case for the nomination will suffer.