Did you think that assumed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump‘s acceptance of Bernie Sanders’ offer to debate ahead of the June 7 California primary was just a joke? Guess again! Despite reports that the former’s comments on Jimmy Kimmel Live were made in jest, it appears the two offbeat White House hopefuls will actually go head-to-head in what’s shaping up to be a massive, ratings-heavy television event. What’s more, it appears the televised political discourse-turned-monster truck rally will do what everyone else refused to do for Trump during the official GOP debates in the fall — offer him (and presumably Sanders) millions of dollars as payment. For charity, of course.
Wait, Is This Really Happening?
Early rumblings from CBS News on Thursday dismissed the idea of a Trump/Sanders debate, and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton scoffed at the idea when MSNBC’s Meet the Press Daily asked her about it: “I don’t think it’s going to happen.” The former Secretary of State echoed her sentiments in another interview on CNN, but as the day progressed, more and more credence was lent to the idea as both camps came to an apparent agreement. Speculation (including our own) hinted at major networks, like talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s own ABC, being keen on offering money and airtime to the presidential candidates in return for their participation. Sanders all but confirmed these machinations during his Thursday night appearance on Kimmel’s program, telling him that his network was one of the interested parties.
KIMMEL: Have you heard from any of the networks? Has anyone contacted you?
SANDERS: Yeah, your network.
KIMMEL: ABC has contacted you? They did?
SANDERS: Yeah, your boss contacted us… he said you’re fired.
All joking aside, however, Sanders wasn’t kidding. He and Kimmel, who surmised that it could be “one of the highest rated events in television history,” offered clues as to what the spectacle might look like. At one point, Sanders even suggested that “the goal would be to have it in some big stadium here in California.” Kimmel and his audience agreed with a roaring round of applause.
What About Hillary?
As this improbable debate has inched closer to reality in the past 36 hours, the question most asked by pundits is, “What about Hillary?” From CNBC to The Week, political analysts, reporters and anyone willing to add a few more minutes of word vomit to the topic have opined that the debate “would be disastrous” for the Democratic presidential candidate most favored by party delegates. This is entirely possible, as the latest polls pitting Clinton and Sanders against one another in California are becoming increasingly close with 46 percent and 44 percent respectively, according to the Los Angeles Times. The margin of error? A whopping 5.7 percentage points.
What would a Trump/Sanders debate even look like? Kimmel’s team offered one comedic possibility, in which Trump’s speech deliveries were slowed down and Sanders’ oratories were sped up. Yet jokes about ratings and venues seem more like actualities than satire. Sanders — whose campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, told MSNBC it would be “one of the most-watched debates in presidential politics” — specifically used the word “stadium” to describe a possible location.
Reuters ran a headline describing the coming debate as “unusual,” but given the current election, that’s not a fair assessment. Besides, the two highest-rated debates televised thus far this election cycle — the first Fox News and CNN GOP debates — garnered 24 and 23 million viewers respectively, shattering numerous records. And because this is all about, erm, raising money for “charity,” then why not go as big as possible? Not just for the ratings, but for the possible ticket sales to be gained from hosting the event in the largest place possible.
What Will This Actually Look Like?
Remember the monster-truck rally comparison in the first paragraph? Yeah, that wasn’t a joke. Perhaps it was a year ago, when Trump hadn’t yet announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential ticket atop an escalator in Trump Tower. But now? In a political climate charged with tweeted taco bowl photos and condemnations of “Bernie bros,” it seems anything truly goes. And if the millions of dollars apparently being pledged to charity to make this happen are legitimate, then the organizers might as well go “whole hog” and book it at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California’s largest city. It’s the biggest outdoor stadium in the state, as it boasts a total seating capacity of 93,607, so why the hell not?
The venue, which has played host to two Summer Olympic Games and the University of Southern California’s football team, is perfect. Not only would it offer the most seats to the biggest crowd possible, but the field itself is too big for two politicians bickering on a stage in front of a few media personalities. Fill up all that extra space with more seats for warm bodies. (At least as close as the two men’s Secret Service details will allow.)
“But wait,” you might say. “What about it being an open air stadium? What if it rains? What if Trump and Sanders’ protection can’t be guaranteed because of the layout?”
No worries! This is Los Angeles in the earliest days of the summer, and combined with California’s ongoing drought, there isn’t a chance in hell the event will be rained out. As for security, the Secret Service can easily institute a temporary no-fly zone over the area. They’ve done it before (i.e. President Obama’s visit to California for, among other things, Marc Maron’s WTF podcast), and they’ll surely do it again for a New York real estate mogul and an Independent Vermont senator.
Plus, the Coliseum is aptly suited for something like this because it can’t possibly be a serious political exchange. Everyone involved — Kimmel, Trump, Sanders, whichever network(s) picks up the tab, whoever attends the live event or watches its broadcast — isn’t participating because of their patriotism or love of democracy. They’re doing it to be entertained. And what’s modern entertainment without a variety of camera angles, at least one wide shot from the Secret Service-approved Good Year blimp hovering above in the sky, an $8 hot dog and a $10 beer?