Donald Trump spoils Bernie Sanders' weekend: he won't debate him after all

The debate was probably a non-starter because Bernie Sanders always had the most to gain

Trump has turned his back on Bernie Sanders (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The whole Donald-Bernie mano-a-mano thing was daft from the start. Finally late on Friday, Donald Trump admitted it. There would be no debate between him and Mr Sanders in California. No West Coast wrestle, no battle on San Francisco Bay. Sorry Bernie.

He dropped his can of cold water at a carefully chosen moment, just as all of America was packing up its picnic bags for the long Memorial Day weekend and paying scant attention to anything else, not even to him.

Talk of a debate between the two men had taken off mid-week when it was put to Mr Trump by a late-night TV host. Sure, he replied, never one to ignore a chance for media exposure. He did have a caveat, however: which ever network aired it would have to give the proceeds to charity.

Certainly, it would have produced quite a television spectacular and a ratings bonanza, the two insurgents with shared disgust for the establishment in Washington but entirely conflicting world views otherwise - one the socialist, the other the living embodiment of capitalist excess.

Politically, the notion was appealing to Mr Sanders who instantly set about broadcasting his enthusiasm on Twitter and then the following night on the same talk show. He saw a chance to eclipse his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, who has refused his entreaties to debate him before the important California primary on 7 June. Late on Friday, he expressed his disappointment.

“I heard that he was going to debate me, then I heard that he was not going to debate me, then I heard that he was going to debate me. Now you're telling me that he is not going to debate me. Well, you know, I hope that he changes his mind again,“ Mr Sanders, 74, said in a video clip posted on an ABC News Twitter account.

But the demurral by Mr Trump was firm. “It seems inappropriate that I would debate the second place finisher,” of the Democratic nomination contest, Mr Trump said in an email sent out to media outlets. He meanwhile took care to deliver jabs to both Ms Clinton and to the TV networks (but not Mr Sanders for whom he has frequently averred something close to affection).

“The networks want to make a killing on these events and are not proving to be too generous to charitable causes, in this case, women’s health issues,” he said. “Therefore, as much as I want to debate Bernie Sanders - and it would be an easy payday - I will wait to debate the first place finisher in the Democratic Party, probably Crooked Hillary Clinton, or whoever it may be.”