Hillary Clinton announced Monday that she has declined to attend an upcoming Democratic debate against Bernie Sanders to air on Fox News.
According to Clinton’s communications director Jennifer Palmieri, “We have declined Fox News’ invitation to participate in a debate in California. As we have said previously, we plan to compete hard in the remaining primary states, particularly California, while turning our attention to the threat a Donald Trump presidency poses.” (RELATED: ‘Morning Joe’ Panelist: DNC Chair ‘Bungled’ The 2016 Election [VIDEO])
“We believe that Hillary Clinton’s time is best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across California and preparing for a general election campaign that will ensure the White House remains in Democratic hands,” Palmieri said, according to Politico.
Last week Sanders accepted Fox News’ invite to attend an upcoming debate moderated by Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace.
After the Democratic National Committee faced criticism from the Sanders campaign for a limited debate schedule against Clinton, in February, the respective campaigns agreed to add four more debates to their schedule. Only three debates have been held so far.
“Naturally, Fox News is disappointed that Secretary Clinton has declined our debate invitation, especially given that the race is still contested and she had previously agreed to a final debate before the California primary,” Bill Sammon, Fox News’s VP and Washington Managing Editor told The Daily Caller in a statement.