Hillary Clinton Shuts Down Bernie Sanders’ Hopes For A Final Debate

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Bernie Sanders makes no secret of his intent to stick through the remaining primary states, including the big one (California), before heading to a contested convention. The Vermont senator would have loved to take on Hillary Clinton in one more Democratic debate, especially after their last meeting grew combative. Yet Clinton is turning out to be remarkably resilient, just like Donald Trump. No matter how many times Sanders mentions those secretive Wall Street transcripts, her voters do not waver. Neither do all those superdelegates, which remain a source of Sanders’ contention.

Well, the Bern won’t get one last round in the debate ring (with Fox News, no less) alongside Clinton as semi-planned. Although she did hint at wanting to spar one more time, Clinton has decided she has better things to do than tussle with a guy who she will almost certainly beat. Instead, she’s already switched mindsets to the general election, where she must prepare for an all-out Trump war. Here’s the official Clinton team shut down:

“We believe that Hillary Clinton’s time is best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across California and preparing for a general election campaign that will ensure the White House remains in Democratic hands.”

Bill Sammon, Fox News VP and Washington Managing Editor, predictably expressed dismay that Clinton is passing on the opportunity to debate Sanders again in a statement provided to Uproxx.

“Naturally, Fox News is disappointed that Secretary Clinton has declined our debate invitation, especially given that the race is still contested and she had previously agreed to a final debate before the California primary.”

Fox News is disappointed, but Sanders even more so. He expressed his lack of excitement over Clinton’s decision, and he warned her not to feel so certain that she’s got this nomination in the bag:

“I hope Secretary Clinton reconsiders her unfortunate decision to back away from her commitment to debate. I also would suggest that Secretary Clinton may want to be not quite so presumptuous about thinking that she is a certain winner. In the last several weeks, the people of Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon have suggested otherwise.”

Sure, Sanders keeps collecting states with each passing week, but he’s only gathered up a few delegates with each successive win. Whereas Clinton is not only leading, but approaching the magic 2,382 delegates needed to take the nomination. While many folks would love to see these two argue one more time, this is likely a wise course of action for Clinton. She’s not keen to waste any more time when she has a bulldog waiting to attack her in the wings. Naturally, Trump is already playing dirty because that’s his style. Will Clinton match Trump’s game? We won’t have to wait long to find out the answer.

(Via CBS News and Washington Post)

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