Bad idea. The debate was a brilliant move by Trump: pump up Sanders (imagine if Hillary actually lost California) and get Sanders supporters—and potential crossover voters—to listen to what he has to say.
Whoever in the campaign suggested that Trump back out of the debate gave him some poor advice.
Walking away is part of making a deal !
Just saying!
Lol..no...he actually accomplished a lot without having to even debate:
1. He set up Hillary as an afterthought for all voters. For the last 2 or 3 days all anyone has heard is positive or neutral about TRUMP and SANDERS. At the same time Clinton's email situation has been negative Clinton.
2. With Democrat voters he's elevated Sanders above Clinton. He's helped to cement Sanders as the front runner in the minds of millions of Dem voters. The scorn and the outrage that will be felt when Sanders is pushed aside will translate to Dem voters staying home.
3. He publicly made a vow to give money to women's issue charities yet didn't have to spend a dime doing it.
All in all it's a total net positive for Trump. Nobody is going to remember a debate that never happened in a week.