Presumptive Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump has provisionally accepted Democratic US presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders’ proposal to debate, but the billionaire is setting a high price for participating. His condition: The hosting TV network would have to put up millions of dollars for charity.
Representatives for Fox News, ABC News and CBS News said the networks are interested in hosting such a showdown, but would not comment on whether they would be willing to put up the US$10 million Trump is demanding for women’s health causes.
“We’re always interested in more opportunities to hear from the candidates,” ABC spokeswoman Julie Townsend said.
Trump on Thursday said a host network would make millions from sky-high ratings and should agree to turn over at least US$10 million to women’s health causes.
Overlooking the impediment of Trump’s price tag on his acceptance, Sanders said on Twitter that he was delighted that Trump accepted, adding: “Let’s do it in the biggest stadium possible.”
Trump and Sanders see potential benefits for pursuing a prime-time event that would be unprecedented, pitting Trump against the clear Democratic underdog — and excluding likely Democratic US presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.
However, it is far from clear if any such showdown will happen. In September last year, Trump proposed that CNN donate profits from the second debate of the then-Republican presidential candidates to charity. CNN never responded to the request and the idea was dropped.
Clinton on Thursday told reporters that she understood the proposal for a debate between Sanders and Trump was “a joke” and that she is looking forward to debating with Trump in the general election campaign.
Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said the idea was not a joke.
“We’re serious and hope Mr Trump is, too,” Briggs said.
He said Clinton declined to join Sanders in another Democratic debate.
Appearing on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, Sanders said of Clinton’s refusal to debate in California: “I think it’s kind of insulting to the people of the largest state in the United States of America.”
He said he is genuinely interested in a faceoff with Trump, saying that the pair sees the world in vastly different ways, adding that “the goal would be to have it in some big stadium.”
Leaving out Clinton could have the effect of belittling her, despite her commanding position on the verge of the Democratic nomination, and could give both men free shots at her decades in public service as part of the establishment they both deride.
For the publicity-loving Trump, such an event would allow him to make a pitch for Sanders supporters who are watching, along the lines of the populism that both men profess.
Lately, Trump has been saying that Sanders is right on some issues, although they are fundamentally far apart on many.
For Sanders, appearing onstage with fellow native New Yorker Donald Trump would draw attention beyond his larger-than-expected base of young supporters.
Poynter Institute vice president and journalistic ethics expert Kelly McBride said the idea of a charitable donation as a requirement “creates the perception of a conflict of interest, but I don’t think it creates a real conflict of interest.”
She said networks already compromise themselves by negotiating with campaigns over the moderators and formats for debates.
The back and forth came the same day an Associated Press count of Republican delegates found that Trump has enough support to exceed the 1,237 delegates required to win the party’s nomination.
Sanders is far behind Clinton, who is 75 delegates short of the 2,383 needed to win the Democratic nomination. Clinton has commitments of support from 2,308 delegates to Sanders’ 1,539.
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