Here, a Clinton match-up is highly likely to be an unmitigated electoral disaster, whereas a Sanders candidacy stands a far better chance. Every one of Clinton's (considerable) weaknesses plays to every one of Trump's strengths, whereas every one of Trump's (few) weaknesses plays to every one of Sanders's strengths. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, running Clinton against Trump is a disastrous, suicidal proposition.

– From the February article: Why Hillary Clinton Cannot Beat Donald Trump

If the Trump/Sanders debate proceeds as planned in California, you're about to witness one of the most important moments of a 2016 general election that hasn't even begun yet. To say such a debate would be an unmitigated disaster for Hillary Clinton would be the understatement of the century. Let's explore why.

First of all, Hillary Clinton outright rejected a debate request from Bernie Sanders ahead of the June 7th California primary. Given Sanders' recent momentum, as well as her need to persuade a significant number of his supporters to back her in November; such a denial was not only arrogant, it was highly insulting to voters in America's largest state. From team Clinton's perspective there was little upside to agreeing to a debate, versus easily manageable downside from a few days of negative media coverage. Or so they thought…

The above strategic thought process would've worked in almost every other election season and against any other candidate. Unfortunately for her, it doesn't work in 2016, and it certainly doesn't work against Donald Trump.

Trump understands human nature as well as anyone I've ever observed. He's also likely the most skilled natural politician of my lifetime, with perhaps the exception of Bill Clinton in his prime. Under conventional thinking, Trump would also certainly deny a Sanders debate request for the same reasons Clinton declined it. There's little to gain in publicly battling a guy with nothing to lose, and you've already wrapped up the Republican nomination anyway. That said, Trump is far too savvy to fall victim to such straightforward thinking. He understands that debating Sanders in California ahead of the primary presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to embarrass and belittle Clinton in front of the whole world before the general election even begins.