Donald Trump could pull out of the third Republican presidential debate if CNBC is not prepared to meet certain demands, his campaign told the Republican National Committee Thursday.
During a phone call between RNC officials and several presidential candidates’ top campaign aides, Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, told the RNC his boss may forego participating in the Oct. 28 debate if it exceeds two hours and candidates are not given the opportunity to make opening and closing statements.
A source with the RNC confirmed the initial report to the Washington Examiner Thursday.
Related Story: http://vip-stage.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2574118/
While the RNC maintains it has no say in the format of the debate, CNBC could accommodate the Republican presidential front-runner’s demands if they fear losing his involvement, and the ratings he is likely to bring, in the upcoming event in Boulder, Colorado.
Trump’s campaign did not return the Examiner’s request for comment. Brian Steel, a spokesman for CNBC, said the network’s goal is to “host the most substantive debate possible.”
“Our practice in the past has been to forego opening statements to allow more time to address the critical issues that matter most to the American people,” Steel told the Examiner. “We started a dialogue yesterday with all of the campaigns involved and we will certainly take the candidates’ views on the format into consideration as we finalize the debate structure.”
