Hold The Popcorn: Trump & Sanders Won’t Debate, After All

Update: Looking forward to the possibility of a debate between Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders? Sorry, you're out of luck. Trump released a statement Friday declaring it would be "inappropriate that I would debate the second-place finisher" now that he has clinched the GOP nomination. In addition to taking a swing at the "totally rigged" Democratic nomination process, Trump said his decision was also informed by the networks "not proving to be too generous to charitable causes." "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 crooked Hillary Clinton, or whoever it may be," the statement reads. Trump had first entertained the idea of a debate against Sanders during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier this week. On Thursday, he told reporters he would "love to debate Bernie" if the forum would raise $10 to $15 million "for maybe women's health issues or something." Sanders, who continues to trail Hillary Clinton in the delegate counts, indicated he was totally game, with his campaign tweeting frequently about the prospect over the last few days.

The following story was originally published on May 26, 2016. Donald Trump made waves on Jimmy Kimmel Live before he even stepped onstage. Slated musical guests Belly and the Weeknd both cancelled rather than share a screen with the presumptive Republican nominee, the AP reports. "I feel like the way I was raised was to be able to see through all the titles in this world — from religion to race," Belly said in a statement. "I just didn't want to feel like I was a part of a celebration for somebody who has beliefs that majority of us don't agree with." Trump wasn’t so shy about making an appearance, even despite protesters lining Hollywood Boulevard to protest his booking.

Of course, Trump wasn't exactly shying away from controversy during his appearance. Kimmel didn't play total softball with the candidate, asking him about past compliments he had paid to Hillary Clinton and husband Bill. "She’s wonderful, the husband, everybody’s wonderful including contributions," Trump joked. "So you were full of shit?" Kimmel said. "A little bit," Trump said, laughing. Trump also spoke about Bernie Sanders, the other Democratic nominee. "If I debated him we would have such high ratings,” Trump told Kimmel. "If he paid a sum to charity I would love to do that." He added that he "enjoys watching" the Democratic candidates during their still-contentious primary process. "It's getting nasty. I had no idea it was gonna be so nasty." Kimmel asked Trump about the bonkers story in which allegedly Trump posed as his own publicist, Trump offered a conditional denial. "It didn’t sound like me," Trump said. But continue, "I’ve used aliases. I would use Barron,” his 10-year-old son's name. "I made a very good deal using that name."