Both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump seemed to agree to a debate on May 25 following a Trump interview with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”—but now Trump has released a statement on his official website, backing out of the head-to-head political bout.
The statement opens with: “Based on the fact that the Democratic nominating process is totally rigged and Crooked Hillary Clinton and Deborah Wasserman Schultz will not allow Bernie Sanders to win, and now that I am the presumptive Republican nominee, it seems inappropriate that I would debate the second place finisher.”
In Bismarck, North Dakota, Trump laid out his offer, saying he would do the debate if it raised “$10 million or $15 million for charity.”
“What we'll do is raise maybe for, maybe women’s health issues or something, if we can raise $10 million or $15 million for charity, which would be a very appropriate amount. I understand the television business very well.”
The event would “get high ratings” and “should be in a big arena somewhere,” Trump said, continuing, “we could have a lot of fun with it.”
