Donald Trump Says He’ll Debate Bernie Sanders for “Women’s Health Issues”

But only if somebody ponies up $10 to $15 million.


Ever on a magnanimous streak, Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday afternoon that he “would love to debate” Bernie Sanders, but would only do so if the televised broadcast could raise $10 to $15 million for a charity. The GOP presumptive nominee, who on the same day seized enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination, said that the charity would “maybe” be “women’s health.”

The idea of a debate between Trump and Sanders, who remains significantly behind Hillary Clinton in the Democratic delegate count, first came up on Wednesday night when Trump appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the host asked if he would consider a face-off with the Vermont senator.”We would have such high ratings and I think that I should take that money and give it to some worthy charity,” Trump said.

In response, Sanders tweeted that he was up for such a debate:

 

Immediately, the political-media world began drooling. But on Thursday morning, Trump campaign sources were telling reporters that the tycoon had only been joking. A Trump-Sanders showdown seemed to be a non-starter. Still, Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ campaign manager, said on MSNBC that his campaign had been in touch with Trump’s crew about a possible debate.

So with this afternoon press conference, Trump revived the notion. And one question now is whether Sanders will take the bait and really join with Trump to raise money for “women’s health,” whatever that might mean. (Trump did not specify.) Such an action would hardly help Clinton, who has declined to debate Sanders a final time prior to the upcoming California primary. (By the way, Trump’s record of keeping his word about charitable donations isn’t too strong.)

Also at the Thursday press conference, Trump was asked whether he expected to keep facing questions regarding his attitude toward women. He tried to brush the issue aside, claiming a recent New York Times story on the matter was “totally discredited.” But when a question concerning Sen. Elizabeth Warren was raised, the mogul took what might be considered a sexist swipe. He derided Warren—who has been on the offensive against Trump in speeches and on social media, frequently referring to Trump’s poor relationship with women—and claimed she was not effective. He added that her only notable accomplishment was having “a big mouth.”

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate