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Donald Trump declines to debate Bernie Sanders

<p>Bernie Sanders might debate Donald Trump. Key word: &quot;might.&quot; And if that debate seems tailor-made for entertainment, it sort of is.</p><p>After Hillary Clinton declined a debate in California against Sanders, the senator from Vermont called out Donald Trump when the businessman appeared on &quot;Jimmy Kimmel Live&quot; on Wednesday.</p><p>&quot;Are you prepared to debate the major issues facing our largest state and the country before the California primary, yes or no?&quot; Kimmel said, quoting Sanders.&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;Yes, I am. How much is he going to pay me?&quot; Trump replied.</p><p>Trump added the money would go to charity.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/735689625407131648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">Sanders responded quickly</a>, tweeting: &quot;Game on. I look forward to debating Donald Trump in California before the June 7 primary.&quot;</p><p>The Trump camp doesn&#39;t seem as serious. Campaign sources are already&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/735830924164620288" target="_blank">telling CBS</a>&nbsp;that Trump was joking about the debate. But if the matchup did happen, it could be a good thing for both candidates &nbsp;in very different ways.</p><p>Sanders trails Clinton for the Democratic nomination, while Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee. Taking on the leader for the GOP&#39;s ticket could give Sanders some serious clout.</p><p>On the flip side, Trump has been&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/29/politics/donald-trump-bernie-sanders/" target="_blank">trying to woo</a>&nbsp;Sanders supporters away from the Democratic ticket, and he could use the debate to show them what he and the Vermont senator have in common.</p><p>Republican debates featuring Trump have broken&nbsp;<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/9/donald-trump-helps-gop-presidential-debates-break-/" target="_blank">viewership records</a>. It&#39;s not a stretch to guess millions would tune in to see this matchup between the parties&#39; self-described outsiders.</p><p>Sanders is slated to appear on Kimmel&#39;s show Thursday night.</p><p><i>This video includes clips from&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmC8AAPtNoE" target="_blank"><i>CNN</i></a><i>,&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti2Nokoq1J4" target="_blank"><i>NBC</i></a><i>,&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReFReMfBWAY" target="_blank"><i>Donald J. Trump for President Inc.</i></a><i>,&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF7n94S2F3Y" target="_blank"><i>WXYZ</i></a><i>,&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH1dpzjCEiGAt8CXkryhkZg" target="_blank"><i>Bernie 2016</i></a><i>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzO-JYjEcHE" target="_blank"><i>ABC / &quot;Jimmy Kimmel Live&quot;</i></a><i>&nbsp;and images from Getty Images.</i></p>
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For weeks Donald Trump has built up the suspense of future debates against Bernie Sanders, but that quickly changed Friday when Trump announced he's backing out of the debate.

As recently as  Thursday, he said he would  try to raise $10 million for charity and then move forward with the debate. But something changed.

"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 ... Hillary Clinton, or whoever it may be," Trump said Friday.

Trump who was recently named the presumptive Republican nominee, cited several reasons as to why he is backing out of the debate, including that the debate would be against "a second place finisher."

Trump says the Democratic nominee process is "rigged" and that Clinton will be the presumptive nominee, even if Sanders has the numbers. 

TODAY'S TMJ4 reached out to both the Clinton and Sanders campaign for a response, but no one was available. 

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