Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Fresno, Calif., on Friday, May 27, 2016. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, backpedaled from a prospective debate with Democratic hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont on Friday, announcing the decision with a stinging statement that dismissed Sanders as an also-ran.

The candidates’ camps had been engaged in discussions with prospective hosts earlier in the week, but in his statement, Trump said it would be “inappropriate” to debate Sanders, who is on the verge of being formally eliminated by the Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton. Trump attributed Sanders’ likely defeat to a “rigged” Democratic primary process.

“Based on the fact that the Democratic nominating process is totally rigged and ‘Crooked’ Hillary Clinton and Deborah Wasserman Schultz will not allow Bernie Sanders to win, and now that I am the presumptive Republican nominee, it seems inappropriate that I would debate the second-place finisher,” Trump said.

Shortly after Trump announced his decision, Sanders was asked about the statement during a question-and-answer session at a campaign event in Los Angeles.

“That’s the first I heard (of it). I heard that he was going to debate me and then that he was not going to debate me. He was going to debate me again. I hope he changes his mind — again,” Sanders said of Trump. “He’s a big, tough guy. Mr. Trump, what are you afraid of?”

The possibility of a debate between Trump and Sanders gained momentum after both candidates sat down with late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel earlier this week. On Wednesday, Trump appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and the host asked if he would be open to debating Sanders before California and six other states hold primaries on June 7.

“If I debated him, we would have such high ratings,” Trump said. “If he paid a sum to charity, I would love to do that.”

Sanders appeared on Kimmel’s show on Thursday and indicated he was open to debating Trump. On the campaign trail in North Dakota on Thursday, Trump told an interviewer he would consider the debate if it could “raise $10 [million] or $15 million for charity.” Specifically, Trump suggested the money could go to “women’s health issues or something.”

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By Friday, multiple networks came forward with proposals to host the debate and provide a charitable donation. Sanders’ campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, issued a statement on Friday afternoon indicating his team was “prepared to accept one of those offers.”

“Our campaign and the Trump campaign have received two offers by broadcast television networks to host the Sanders-Trump debate that we suggested. Both offers include a major contribution to charity,” Weaver said, later adding, “Given that the California primary is on June 7, it is imperative that this all comes together as soon as possible. We look forward to a substantive debate that will contrast the very different visions that Sen. Sanders and Mr. Trump have for the future of our country.”

Trump released his statement announcing his refusal to participate in the debate less than one hour after the Sanders campaign said it was ready to accept an offer.

“The networks want to make a killing on these events and are not proving to be too generous to charitable causes, in this case, women’s health issues. Therefore, as much as I want to debate Bernie Sanders — and it would be an easy payday — I will wait to debate the first-place finisher in the Democratic Party, probably Crooked Hillary Clinton, or whoever it may be,” Trump said.

Additional reporting from Lisa Belkin