The first debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton on September 26 will compete against ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” telecast of the New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons.
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The Commission on Presidential Debates has dismissed the accusation, saying in a statement that the scheduling process began more than a year ago to identify possible conflicts. The commission said it was “impossible” to avoid all sporting events.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy tweeted that the league had never sent a letter to Trump voicing their concern about the scheduling of the debates.
Sanders alleged the DNC was trying to help Clinton with fewer debates, with some scheduled on nights with a likely smaller viewership. The Republican National Committee has also complained about the debate schedule, which can be seen here. An NFL spokesperson later denied that the league had sent Trump any such letter.
‘The CPD did not consult with any political parties or campaigns in making these decisions, ‘ the commission said in a statement issued Saturday. “We will be at the debates set by the bipartisan debate commission and expect he will too”.
The debate scheduling process is always hard.
Asked about Trump’s assertion, National Football League spokesman Brian McCarthy tweeted on Saturday: “While we’d obviously wish the Debate Commission could find another night, we did not send a letter to Mr Trump”. The sites and dates for the 2016 debates were announced in September 2015. “This was a dumb idea and should be revisited”, Spicer said, throwing the RNC’s support behind Trump’s complaint.
The CPD was specifically formed as a nonpartisan group to create a structure for debates that doesn’t favor one candidate over another.
The Oct. 9 date falls on the New York Giants, a team from both Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton’s home state, taking on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Surely there is more than enough time to give this schedule a second look and move the debates to a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” last season averaged close to 13 million viewers while NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” has been the most-watched prime time program for several years and last season averaged more than 21 million viewers.
“Listen, I don’t know about whether the commission is rigged, I just think there’s a lot of flaws with this commission”, Priebus said. Somebody said one debate, I would rather have three. “I think we’re a big family and I think some of these bruises take time to heal”, he said.
Her campaign, meanwhile, dismissed Trump’s claims, with vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine saying he’s “mystified” by what he calls Trump’s “bizarre” allegations.
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When asked directly whether Trump would participate in the debates, his campaign manager, Paul Manafort, said the Republican candidate “wants to participate” but also seeks “the maximum audience”.
