# Sanders and Trump agree to a debate...how do you think it will turn out? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 26, 2016, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734 "2016-05-26T12:18:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/101 "2016-05-27T18:29:35Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Because that is not how people consume information. Well then they don’t really care that much about the election then do they? Engaged citizens should be engaged, they should not need everything spoon fed to them. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/102 "2016-05-27T18:30:24Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > What craziness that someone can say with a straight face a “mere” 6 debates. That’s plenty, was what happened in 2008, and got bumped up to 9. Oh, but 10 or 11 is the magic number! There were 25 primary debates in 2008. Perhaps you are thinking of the general election debates? > **[Is Six Democratic Debates Too Few?](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/is-six-democratic-debates-too-few/)** > > Sen. Bernie Sanders and any other Democrat who challenges Hillary Clinton for the party’s 2016 presidential nomination will have at least six high-profile chanc… ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/103 "2016-05-27T18:35:19Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > You know what’s worse than renegging on a debate you agreed to (but which is now pointless)? Jumping over your party’s nominating process and agreeing to debate the GOP’s presumptive nominee before you yourself have secured your party’s nomination. Imagine the uproar from Bernie’s camp if Hillary agreed to debate Trump right now. > I’m starting to wonder if Bernie would rather have a Trump presidency than a Clinton presidency. Some of his supporters would. I think we should do everything in our power to stop this from happening, even if it means humoring the old socialist with a face made for radio and a voice made for print. Seriously, he has no charisma, no presence, nuthin. All he has is a few ideas, most of which are nucking futz but a few of his ideas are good enough to be taken seriously and the Democratic establishment is not taking him or his ideas seriously. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/104 "2016-05-27T18:38:15Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Because that is not how people consume information. You did see my earlier link, right? > **[2016 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_presidential_debates_and_forums,_2016)** > > A total of ten debates occurred among candidates in the campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for the president of the United States in the 2016 presidential election (This was in contrast to 12 Republican debates.). > Several forums, in which candidates do not respond directly to each other, were later also announced, with the support of the DNC. > The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on May 5, 2015, that there would be 6 debates, which they considered "a reasonable number ... Contains ratings for the debates. 4 of the past 5 debates not even 6 million people watched, and that’s with much of the country still up for grabs. Sanders and Hillary have, combined, more Twitter followers than debate viewers. They would be get a far bigger audience if they committed to getting hammered one Friday night and drunk-tweet each other for 3 hours. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/105 "2016-05-27T18:42:43Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > There were 25 primary debates in 2008. Perhaps you are thinking of the general election debates? > > [Is Six Democratic Debates Too Few? | FiveThirtyEight](http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/is-six-democratic-debates-too-few/) As I mentioned in a later post, I was thinking of the number of sanctioned debates. There was just a ludicrous number of unsanctioned debates in '08 > **[First on CNN: Clinton, Democratic presidential opponents to debate six times...](https://www.cnn.com/2015/05/05/politics/2016-democratic-debates-hillary-clinton/)** > > Democrats will announce Tuesday six presidential primary debates, giving long shots a potential opportunity to share the debate stage with frontrunner Hillary Clinton, CNN has learned. > [@](#): > > The official said that the DNC decided six debates was a reasonable number and in line with what the national committee sanctioned in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/106 "2016-05-27T18:49:34Z")
Regardless, **CarnalK** , these two candidates have already met 21 times this primary season - 9 debates, 12 town halls - so I don’t even think **Damjuri** can argue that this schedule is appreciably easier for either side than it was in '08. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/107 "2016-05-27T19:29:51Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > It’s the “Reagan Democrats” (who/what-ever those are) that might be lost. Given the demographics of the electorate, Sanders voters represent a far bore important gain for the future of the democratic party. > [@CarnalK](#): > > She’s trying to win this election, not all future elections. Sanders supporters make up less than half the primary voters, the ones who really expect/need a revolution far less. After all her talk of incremental change, it is pretty ludicrous to think she’s going to choose Captain Revolution as a running mate. I wanted to follow this up a bit more with a look at our own [informal in house survey](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=7699). You’ll notice that once you take out the silly poll option, 76% of Bernie supporters here are “absolutely” or “probably” going to vote for Hillary over Trump. 14% absolutely or probably won’t. It seems pretty delusional to think she might piss of all those millions of voters who hate the word “socialist” in order to grab some of that 14%. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/108 "2016-05-27T19:49:01Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I wanted to follow this up a bit more with a look at our own [informal in house survey](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=7699). You’ll notice that once you take out the silly poll option, 76% of Bernie supporters here are “absolutely” or “probably” going to vote for Hillary over Trump. 14% absolutely or probably won’t. It seems pretty delusional to think she might piss of all those millions of voters who hate the word “socialist” in order to grab some of that 14%. And as I mentioned, at this same place in 2008, only 60% of HRC supporters said they would vote for Barack Obama in the general… but in the end, they came out for Barack Obama well over 90%. Bernie supporters aren’t even at that level of antipathy yet. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/109 "2016-05-27T19:56:23Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > And as I mentioned, at this same place in 2008, only 60% of HRC supporters said they would vote for Barack Obama in the general… but in the end, they came out for Barack Obama well over 90%. > > Bernie supporters aren’t even at that level of antipathy yet. I think you could attribute a hell of a lot of that difference thanks to the alternative being Trump. If a Romney or McCain was the presumptive Republican nominee I bet we’d see a little more stubbornness from Bernie supporters. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/110 "2016-05-27T20:50:19Z")
The dream… [is over](http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/27/politics/trump-says-he-will-not-debate-sanders/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/111 "2016-05-27T20:51:01Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > DO you think that another debate between Hillary and Bernie would inform the voters more or have no real effect? No real effect. As you know, but won’t say yourself. > [@](#): > > What DO I think of her and why? I’d love to know. You do know. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/112 "2016-05-27T21:20:17Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I’ve wondered, too, whether or not Trump is laying a trap for Bernie. Maybe Trump uses this opportunity to talk about Bernie’s wife’s management of Burlington College and make a point about how irresponsible democratic policies are. It would be fairly easy to damage not only Bernie but the entire Democratic brand that way. Bernie Bros would be patting themselves on the back about how they courageously defended free college before a live TV audience and against the GOP nominee no less, but if Trump manages to hack away at Bernie’s vulnerabilities, it would accomplish three things: 1) It would make Bernie look like an incompetent progressive idiot; 2) It would make Clinton look like a coward for not showing up; and 3) it would quite possibly convince more mainstream republicans to get off the sidelines and support Trump after all. Trump, despite winning, is still a desperate candidate. He needs more GOP support. He could use this opportunity to get it. Why would Hillary look like a coward? She had nothing to do with it in the first place, and she’s guaranteed to be debating Trump anyway. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/113 "2016-05-27T21:24:03Z")
Sorry to be oblique: [Trump declines to debate Sanders](http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/27/politics/trump-says-he-will-not-debate-sanders/index.html) > [@CNN](#): > > “Based on the fact that the Democratic nominating process is totally rigged and Crooked Hillary Clinton and (Debbie) Wasserman-Schultz will not allow Bernie Sanders to win, and now that I am the presumptive Republican nominee, it seems inappropriate that I would debate the second-place finisher,” Trump said in a statement. > > Trump also said news networks “are not proving to be too generous to charitable causes,” which he previously had said would be a goal of debating Sanders. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/114 "2016-05-27T22:16:34Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Sorry to be oblique: > > [Trump declines to debate Sanders](http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/27/politics/trump-says-he-will-not-debate-sanders/index.html) How dare Hillary not allow Bernie to win. She’s so crooked, what with her getting more votes than any other Democratic candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/116 "2016-05-27T23:42:27Z")
Trump and his little hands take the cowards way out. Sad. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Ego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/49beb7/32.png) [@Omega\_Ego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Ego)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/117 "2016-05-28T01:24:48Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I wanted to follow this up a bit more with a look at our own [informal in house survey](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=7699). You’ll notice that once you take out the silly poll option, 76% of Bernie supporters here are “absolutely” or “probably” going to vote for Hillary over Trump. 14% absolutely or probably won’t. It seems pretty delusional to think she might piss of all those millions of voters who hate the word “socialist” in order to grab some of that 14%. This is hardly representative of the general population. It’s more reasonable to assume that level-headed Republicans would abstain from voting, and that Hillary should keep to her reluctant far-left voters who are banking on her not being the center/center-right corporate shill they already suspect her to be. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/118 "2016-05-28T03:06:51Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > From whence do you derive this extraordinary prediction? Nostradamus? Magic 8-ball? Of course I made it up. It seems reasonable to me. The Sanders voters are mad at Clinton. When they hear another outsider promise them that their positions and issues will get a fair hearing and a reasonable chance of adoption if Trump is elected, I think some portion of them, already mad at the establishment, will go with the only anti-establishment candidate in the election. Now most Sanders supporters will see through Trump. But the man is a good salesman, and a salesman closes the sale by telling the customer what the customer wants to hear. Trump does that better than any existing national politician. I am convinced that a good portion of anyone listening to the man when he says what you want him to say will side with him. After all, he did it in a matter of months to the Republican party. And remember, many many of the Sanders supporters are young and inexperienced activists and honest people. It is hard for honest people to truly believe the person saying what they want to hear is lying. I think a lot of them will fall for it. That is where my ⅓ comes from. Feel free to pick your own number, but I am contending it won’t be zero. A Trump/Sanders ‘debate’ will be different from anything to date. Trump knows the purpose of the presentation is to win over as many Sanders supporters as he can. He isn’t interested in debating policies with Sanders, he knows the purpose of the meeting. He isn’t campaigning against Sanders-Sanders won’t be the Democratic nominee-he will be selling the Sanders supporters. Sanders will try to run against Trump by highlighting his differences with Trump’s policies. Trump will stymie that by agreeing with much of what Sanders says. Because he knows that is what Sanders supporters want to hear. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/119 "2016-05-28T16:03:27Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > Well then they don’t really care that much about the election then do they? Engaged citizens should be engaged, they should not need everything spoon fed to them. Are you trying to increase voter information or telling them to go fucking find it on their own? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/120 "2016-05-28T16:05:20Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > You did see my earlier link, right? > > [2016 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_presidential_debates_and_forums,_2016) > > Contains ratings for the debates. 4 of the past 5 debates not even 6 million people watched, and that’s with much of the country still up for grabs. Sanders and Hillary have, combined, more Twitter followers than debate viewers. They would be get a far bigger audience if they committed to getting hammered one Friday night and drunk-tweet each other for 3 hours. 😃 Trump was sucking up all the oxygen in the room at the time. That is no longer the case. People now have the leisure of mind to focus on the Democratic primary and even at this late stage, it makes a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734/121 "2016-05-28T16:08:26Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > No real effect. As you know, but won’t say yourself. No I think you are wrong. I think that the Democratic side of the primary has had little to no coverage compared t the Republican side and now that the dust has cleared on the Republican side the media can focus on the Democratic primary but Hillary is reluctant to have that sort of focus. > [@](#): > > You do know. No I don’t. Why so coy? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-and-trump-agree-to-a-debate-how-do-you-think-it-will-turn-out/755734.md?page=7)