Caught in a fib, Trump hedges on debate schedule
08/01/16 09:20 AM—UPDATED 08/01/16 09:21 AM
By Steve Benen
It may seem hard to believe, but the first general-election presidential debate is next month. On Monday, Sept. 26, the major-party candidates – and any third-party candidate with more than 15% support in national polls – will meet for the first of three widely anticipated showdowns.
What’s unclear is whether or not Donald Trump will agree to participate.
Late Friday, the Republican nominee argued via Twitter that it’s “unacceptable” that Hillary Clinton and Democrats are “trying to rig the debates” so that they compete against “major NFL games.” A day later, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked the Republican nominee about his plans in an interview that aired yesterday on “This Week.”
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s talk about debates. You’re gonna accept the recommendations of the Debate Commission, three debates, one VP debate?
TRUMP: Well, I’ll tell you what I don’t like. It’s against two NFL games. I got a letter from the NFL saying, “This is ridiculous. Why are the debates against–” ‘cause the NFL doesn’t wanna go against the debates. ‘Cause the debates are gonna be pretty massive, from what I understand, okay? And I don’t think we should be against the NFL. I don’t know how the dates were picked.
Well, a couple of things. First, Trump should probably learn “how the dates were picked” before popping off. In reality, Clinton and Democrats didn’t set the schedule; the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates picked the dates last fall.
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http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/caught-fib-trump-hedges-debate-schedule?cid=sm_fb_maddow
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