Born out of a tongue-in-cheek response to a planted question on a late-night talk show, the notion of a Donald Trump-Bernie Sanders debate has taken on a life of its own.
The pair have a $1 million offer on the table to stage the event, according to
Politico; Trump said he thinks such an event could generate $10 million to $15 million; Sanders wants "the biggest stadium possible."
"This would be a complete circus," Democratic media strategist Brad Bannon told
The Hill. "To me, it shows more than anything else that American politics has become entertainment."
But everybody loves a circus.
"I think it would be fun to watch," Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer told The Hill — and she's a Hillary Clinton supporter.
Other Democrats, however, are not as amused and condemn this as a ploy by Sanders.
"That confirms what we've been saying." Sen. Joe Manchin told
Politico. "Why would you expect Bernie should be considerate or be nice or be working to bring everyone together? Why? He's not a Democrat."
To recap how things spun forward so quickly:
On Wednesday night, Trump appeared on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" where the host had a challenge waiting for Trump from Bernie Sanders: Debate me. Trump said he'd be open to a debate with Bernie, as long as proceeds went to charity.
Sanders tweeted:
Though a Trump campaign official called it a tongue-in-cheek response, the Sanders camp pounced and whipped up buzz to debate Trump before the June 7 primary in California, perhaps Sanders' last best chance to gain ground on Clinton.
And what does the Democratic front-runner think of all this?
"You know, I know they've gone back and forth on this, and they seem to be saying it's some kind of joke,"
The Hill quoted Clinton telling MSNBC. "Trump doesn't sound very serious."
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