Trump told ABC: ‘You know, Hillary Clinton wants to be against the NFL. The commission, meanwhile, successfully predicted the NFL’s 2016 schedule, which was announced in April.
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“It’s against two National Football League games”.
Trump’s campaign later conceded to ABC that he had not, in fact, received a letter.
“I’ll tell you what I don’t like”, Trump said.
Trump said Saturday that the football league complained in a letter to him about the debate schedule.
“While we’d obviously wish the Debate Commission could find another night, we did not send a letter to Mr Trump”, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy tweeted Saturday in response to Politico’s Alex Weprin and the Associated Press’Mike Sisak.
Whether the debate scheduling drama means Trump will skip out of upcoming debates or not isn’t clear yet – but clearly, organizations won’t be letting the Republican candidate use them as an excuse for bowing out or rabble-rousing. I think that’s fine. “I think it’s enough”.
Most importantly for evaluating Trump’s tweet, the commission announced the dates and locations on September 23, 2015.
Trump’s campaign is concerned that two debates are scheduled to take place on the same night as nationally-televised NFL games.
The commission said Saturday night that it “did not consult with any political parties or campaigns in making these decisions”.
But in an era where DVR, streaming services and the Internet provide so many options for audiences who can’t catch a program in real time, voters should be able to get access to debates, if they seek them out.
On Sept. 26, the night of the first debate, ESPN will carry the Monday night game featuring the Falcons playing the Saints. I will do three debates. The second debate on Sunday Oct. 9 will be on opposite NBC’s coverage of the New York Giants vs. the Green Bay Packers. Fridays and Saturdays are effectively ruled out because TV viewing is lower on weekend evenings.
One complication was Yom Kippur on Tuesday, October 11 and Wednesday, October 12.
It began with Trump’s tweet on Friday, alleging that the overlapping schedules of the National Football League games and the presidential debates were purposely crafted by Clinton, seemingly as a way to lower viewership of the debates. Still, the Trump camp-now with the full backing of the Republican National Committee-is suggesting that it isn’t done dealing just yet.
“There’s a nonpartisan independent commission that sets up debates”, Clinton said, according to the Washington Examiner. The announcement on the debates was quite some time ago on the date.
The debate commission, intentionally or not, steered clear of NFL games from 2000 through 2008, only venturing into football’s territory again in 2012. “This was a dumb idea and should be revisited”, Spicer said, throwing the RNC’s support behind Trump’s complaint.
Another interpretation is that Trump wants to make sure he has the biggest possible audience for the debates.
If Trump “says no, then he looks weak, which is against brand”, Favreau theorized.
His podcast co-host Dan Pfeiffer, a former Obama aide and CNN commentator, brought up the ongoing guessing game about whether Trump will participate.
DICKERSON: Do you agree with the nominee that it’s a rigged system, the debates?
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Let me share the thoughts of one outraged woman – me.
