Late into last night, Donald Trump was trending heavily on Twitter, even besting the NBA Finals. But not in a good way. Seems The Donald painted himself into a corner on the Jimmy Kimmel show Wednesday night, saying he’d “love to” debate Bernie Sanders, who’s debate date with Hillary Clinton in California has resulted in a no-show on her part. Trump’s only requirements? A willing major network and charitable donations of $10 million bucks. His proposed date’s answer? A big, slobbering, “Yes, please” from the Sanders campaign, with two interested networks willing to air the debate, both offering “a major” charitable contribution per Trump’s stipulation (quick, remind me again where that six million dollars earmarked for veterans ended up?). His prerequisites were met, so the Trump-Sanders SlugFest is on, right? Wrong. Trump backtracked as quickly as Michael Jackson moonwalked off the set of “Thriller:”

NEW: Trump says he will not debate Sanders; "it seems inappropriate that I would debate the second place finisher." pic.twitter.com/1i0eDIryfm

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 27, 2016

Cue the moonwalk:

via GIPHY

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders was not lacking in progressive policy-laden rhetoric in response to Trump backpedaling on his California Rumble invitation:

I mean what could be more exciting that a debate between two grumpy old-timers with dueling ideas about big and bigger government, right? Seems a lame-duck excuse for a guy who says he’s chomping at the bit to take on Miss Hillary. One would think debating a Far Left Commie would be child’s play in comparison. And boy has Trump’s flipflop du jour handed diehard Sanders supporters a goose, er, chicken egg with which to bat about the interwebz. To say that social media is squawking is the understatement of the campaign week:

I thought @realDonaldTrump was from NY, but he is obviously a Rhode Island Red! #ChickenTrump

— Daniel B (@DannyB727) May 27, 2016

Zing! But wait, there’s more:

#ChickenTrump Now Says Debate With #Sanders Would Be 'Inappropriate' https://t.co/gnlezrZU48 @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/VrwtHH2gF5

— Scarlyle (@scarlyle) May 27, 2016

Suddenly #ChickenTrump is worried about being "inappropriate". https://t.co/HHSJDQc7e7

— montyish (@Montyish) May 27, 2016

The besties have one more thing in common
They are too afraid to debate with @BernieSanders #ChickenTrump pic.twitter.com/RKMk8AynJX

— BERNER WITH HILLARY (@WirSindAlleFRK) May 27, 2016

…with at least one super-hero Bernie (because nothing screams “America!” like Big Government Socialism)…

https://twitter.com/BilblyBob/status/736328673331138561

…and at least one skit complete with dancing chickens:

Here's a .GIF for #ChickenTrumphttps://t.co/5B1xkVyupI pic.twitter.com/QKn095cTod

— Jim Swift (@JSwiftTWS) May 27, 2016

You get the idea. The razz-fest was relentless, and decidedly Trumpesque in its rapid-fire flame-throwing. By the way, remember that time Mr. Trump debated Senator Cruz one-on-one to demonstrate his superior knowledge on everything federal government? Yeah, me, neither.

But in all seriousness:

#ChickenTrump is throwing away a golden opportunity to appeal to disaffected Bernie supporters. C'mon, don't be like Craven Clinton. Lead!

— Ladlien (@Ladlien) May 27, 2016

Bingo.

If I were Donald Trump, I’d brush up on my anti-Socialism and pro-Capitalism message and arm-wrestle the would-be Hugo Chavez right back to the old folks home and maybe gain myself some votes to boot. Instead, Trump has handed his geriatric counterpart a golden egg with which he’s making Free Omelets. And Donald Trump seems to be paying the hefty price tag: For Trump, it’s a missed opportunity to expose the utter failure that is “Democratic Socialism,” and the Democrat platform in general, having gone down in flames wherever and whenever it’s tried (hint: there’s no “good” Socialism; only the death and destruction kind), meanwhile showcasing the successes of conservative policies that have pulled so many out of poverty and into the quest for the American Dream. He’d need look no further than the current state of a dying Venezuela juxtaposed with the thirty-one GOP-lead states across the nation whose economies and freedom are bustling. But then again, he’s already shown he can’t articulate the latter. And maybe that’s what he’s really afraid of.

Hey, Donald: Time to rent a copy of Conservatism Rocks for Dummies. And take off that chicken suit.