The next Republican debate, to be hosted by CNBC in Boulder, Colorado, may be in trouble, CNN reports. The two GOP front-runners for President, Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson, are threatening to boycott due to their problems with the debate setup.
The two basic complaints are that three hours is too long, and that the candidates will not be offered opening and closing statements.
In a letter to CNBC, which is hosting the next debate, the two candidates said they would not participate in the Oct. 28 debate “if it is longer than 120 minutes including commercials and does not include opening and closing statements.”
In a conference call between Republican National Committee officials and top advisers to the presidential campaigns on Thursday, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski also said that Trump would consider skipping the debate if his terms were not met.
The demand for a two-hour debate comes in the wake of CNN’s decision to extend the previous GOP debate to three hours, leaving some of the candidates visibly exhausted.
In point of fact, reports are that Trump simply has “no interest” in the debate at all. Trump has been voicing his opinion on Twitter, as is his typical process.
The @GOP should not agree to the ridiculous debate terms that @CNBC is asking unless there is a major benefit to the party.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2015
.@CNBC is pushing the @GOP around by asking for extra time (and no criteria) in order to sell more commercials.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2015
Why is the @GOP being asked to do a debate that is so much longer than the just-aired and very boring #DemDebate?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2015
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