The next Republican presidential debate may air without the presence of the party’s two biggest contenders — that is, if their demands aren’t met.
Ben Carson and Donald Trump’s campaigns sent a joint letter to CNBC’s Washington bureau on Thursday threatening to skip the Oct. 28 debate if the network doesn’t cut the program down to 2 hours and allow the candidates opening and closing statements. NBC News obtained the document.
“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,” reads the letter, signed by both Carson and Trump.
Politico reported that the network had sent out a message of criteria regarding the debate that all the candidates had agreed on. The problem is that, according to the GOP, they never agreed to the terms.
Carson and Trump wrote that “neither of our campaigns agreed to either the length you propose or your ban on opening or closing statements. In fact, neither of our campaigns were even consulted.”
Carson’s campaign aid, Ed Brookover, said that allowing candidates opening and closing statements will ensure a fairer debate where everyone is able to make their points.
“It’s the fairest way to ensure that any candidate has an opportunity to be heard both early and late in the debate and not to rely on the good graces of the moderators,” he told The Hill.
Trump campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, told the New York Times why the outspoken Republican finds great importance in trimming down the length of the debate.
“For us it was imperative that the time be changed to 120 minutes,” Lewandowski said. “Until we have this criteria specifically laid out, it is difficult to participate.”
The network also released a memo hinting at the strong possibility that they will take the candidates’ requests into consideration.
“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,” CNBC spokesman Brian Steel said in a statement to The Hill.
The campaigns of Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Rand Paul and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush all mentioned the need for opening and closing statements during a Thursday conference call, Politico reported.
