Earlier today, Melissa gave her thoughts on the possibility of a Bernie Sanders-Donald Trump debate.
From where I sit, Bernie stands everything to gain from debating Trump. I know that Trump didn’t technically challenge Bernie, but the fact he told Jimmy Kimmel he would do it automatically elevates Bernie and it couldn’t come at a better time with the California Democrat Primary taking place on June 7th. If Bernie does well in a debate against Trump, it not only hurts Trump but could put a dagger into Hillary Clinton.
Although Trump has occasionally taken some lumps in the GOP debates, debating Bernie could be a risky proposition. Bernie isn’t a great debater by any stretch of the imagination, given his rants against “millionaires and billionaires” the socialist Senator is salivating at the prospect of debating Trump. He’s been waiting to debate a billionaire (or in this case an alleged billionaire) his whole life. Complicating matters is the fact Bernie and Trump’s constituencies have some overlap and a strong debate by Bernie could see his revolution come to fruition.
And if Bernie comes out of the debate standing strong over Trump, it will hurt Hillary even worse. If Bernie can demonstrate he’s a more viable opponent against Trump, California Democrats will have to ask themselves why he shouldn’t be the nominee. Democrat super delegates, not wanting to stay aboard a sinking ship, might pose the same question. Disagree with Bernie’s positions all you want, he has none of the legal troubles hanging over Hillary’s head. Besides, the polls consistently show Bernie beating Trump by double digits in a general election match up and a decisive debate by Bernie could elevate those numbers even higher.
Given that Trump has a far better chance of prevailing against Hillary than Bernie, look for Trump to back out of any debate against Bernie.
