NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (UPI) — Billionaire Donald Trump has his own solution to the Republicans’ dissent over recent coverage of the party’s presidential debates: Negotiate the TV deals himself.
The Republican National Committee has expressed distaste for CNBC’s coverage of last week’s debate at the University of Colorado — claiming the network and its moderators were “mean-spirited” and “petty” in its approach to the event.
As a result, the RNC announced Friday it had backed out of an upcoming debate scheduled for Feb. 26.
In a statement, the RNC said it would seek input from its presidential candidates and formulate a plan going forward. Two representatives from the Trump camp were present during the letter’s drafting.
A joint letter was drafted by Republicans Sunday, to be sent to network executives, which included a list of requirements the party mandates for any future debate.
Among the demands is a stipulation that the candidates be given an opportunity to question the networks about questions and the debate’s format far in advance. The GOP is also mandating at least 30-seconds in each debate for opening and closing statements from each candidate — and the elimination of rapid fire question and answer sessions, which it calls “lightening rounds.”
Trump, though, reportedly said Monday that he won’t go along with that plan. Instead, sources familiar with the plan said, the real estate magnate will negotiate individually for network deals — an endeavor other campaign officials say is exactly what the RNC is doing with its letter.
“If they want to send their own letter, that’s fine — a letter’s a letter,” Barry Bennett, Ben Carson’s campaign manager, said Monday. “The Trump folks were clear about what they wanted, and the Carson campaign agrees with them 90 percent of the time. We are getting opening and closing statements. We are going to get some parity in questions. We are going to actually get formats announced to the campaigns. Trump’s basically asking for the same thing, he’s just going to do with his own letterhead.”
The RNC’s letter has not yet been sent to network executives. Author and longtime GOP attorney Ben Ginsberg submitted the letter to the GOP campaigns and asked for edits within two days.
Republicans have voiced criticisms about each of the three debates so far. Notably, Trump spurred controversy following the first debate on Aug. 6 when he blasted Fox News and newswoman Megyn Kelly.
Prior to last week’s debate, campaign officials for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Chris Christie complained that their “green rooms” on the Boulder, Colo., campus were far below standard compared to those given to Trump, Carson and Rubio.
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