GOP Debate in Boulder: CNBC Changes Debate Rules After Donald Trump, Fellow Republicans' Demands
After the rules of the upcoming CNBC debate of the Republican presidential hopefuls led to a spat between the channel, various campaigns and the Republican National Committee (RNC), the business station said it would accommodate demands reportedly championed by front-runner Donald Trump.
The business tycoon turned presidential candidate had insisted that the third Republican presidential primary debate include opening and closing statements and threatened that he would not participate if the event exceeded 120 minutes, Politico noted.
On the latter issue, CNBC has already met Trump's requests, and unidentified sources told the Washington publication that the channel was also considering format changes to allow some form of opening or closing statements, which might be limited to 30 seconds for each contender.
Earlier this week, the former "Apprentice" star had joined forces with one of his GOP rivals, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, to up the ante in the dispute. In a letter sent to the television channel, representatives from their campaigns had gone so far as to spell out an ultimatum, Politico said
"Neither Mr. Trump or Dr. Carson will participate in your debate if it is longer than 120 minutes including commercials and does not include opening and closing statements," Trump's national political director, Michael Glassner, and Ed Brookover, a senior strategist with Carson, wrote.
Trump, for his part, had underlined the point on social media, writing, "The GOP should not agree to the ridiculous debate terms that CNBC is asking unless there is a major benefit to the party."
But eventually, the RNC began calling the campaigns on Friday morning to inform them that CNBC altered the tough stance on its rules the channel had initially adopted, CNN detailed.
"We are having an ongoing conversation with CNBC and the candidates," the committee's spokesman, Sean Spicer, affirmed.
The CNBC debate, which is scheduled to be held on Oct. 28, at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, will be the GOP rivals' third debate; they previously met in on Aug. 6, in a Fox News-sponsored event in Cleveland and in a Sept. 16, for CNN in Simi Valley, California.
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