It is truly difficult for me to imagine that a Trump v Sanders debate is really going to happen. But it is an amazingly terrible idea for anyone who cares about preventing Trump from being the next President. Indeed, does anyone alive believe this helps elect a Democratic president? And if not, what is the rationale? Perhaps it’s a wash. Sideshows in May probably don’t have that much effect. But it certainly does not help.
It is only a spectacle by which both candidates, Trump and Sanders, can indulge their tacitly-agreed common interest in sidelining and diminishing Hillary Clinton, who of course will be the nominee. I don’t want to speculate about Sanders’ motives, other than that it is probably a good way to elevate himself into the appearance of an ersatz Democratic standard-bearer and to get media attention which has slackened as most of the attention has moved toward the general election. That would be perfectly understandable if we didn’t know for a certainty that he is not going to be the nominee and that this would be bad for the person who is. Remember: President Trump.
I think there’s a very good chance it would descend into a Hillary-bashing fest. Indeed, how could it not? That would obviously be Trump’s overriding interest and aim. And it would be at best awkward for Sanders to be in the position of aggressively defending Clinton.
Great theater and spectacle. It would be great fun to watch – if we didn’t have a campaign going on in which the fight to keep Donald Trump out of the White House depends entirely on how much Hillary Clinton can unify Democratic support behind her candidacy. Like I said, I really, really doubt this will happen. In addition to everything else, it would probably give Trump the ability to skim more money from a charity event.
If it does happen, it would really, really make me question what Sanders’ motives or simply what he is thinking. Do we want a President Trump or not?
