Yes, Bernie Sanders would have beaten Trump, but the real question is

[mtnsnake]

Could he have beaten someone other than Trump?

I think part of the reason Trump won the republican primary was because Hillary had a strong lead over Sanders, and the republican base thought a monumental asshole like Donald Trump would have the best chance of beating her because of the way he could lie about her and get away with it in the mainstream media. OTOH, if Sanders had had a commanding lead over Hillary throughout the primaries, I think it's very arguable that someone other than Trump would have been the republican nominee.

I think Bernie would have beaten Trump beyond the shadow of a doubt, but it's not really saying all that much because ANYONE would have beaten Trump. Anyone but Hillary, that is. By the time 2016 rolled around, the right wing had spent decades ruining her reputation and destroying her chances to beat anyone, even someone as pathetic a candidate as Trump. Considering that half the country simply did not like her before the primaries even began, it turned out to be a colossal mistake for her to run in 2016. As competent as she is, the only chance she had of winning in 2016 was if someone like Trump was the republican nominee, yet she couldn't even beat him, thanks to what the right wing had done to here reputation over the years. That, and most of the country didn't want any more Bushes or Clintons.

OTOH, the right wing had not been preparing for decades for Bernie Sanders like they did for Hillary. However, even though Bernie would have cleaned the floor with someone like Trump, the real question is: Could he have beaten someone other than Trump, such as Rubio or Kasich?