The dates for the 2016 presidential debates were announced on September 23, 2015, when Trump was not seen as viable – and when the National Football League schedule for 2016 was not set.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he is unhappy with the dates set for his televised debates with White House rival Hillary Clinton, putting him at odds with an independent commission that set the calendar nearly a year ago.
Donald Trump is not happy that he will be participating in a presidential debate during two National Football League games this fall.
Spokesman Brian McCarthy said while the NFL certainly wasn’t thrilled about the debate schedule, the league office did not send said letter.
The Sept. 26 debate will clash with “Monday Night Football” on ESPN, while the October 9 one runs up against “Sunday Night Football” on NBC.
Trump is, of course, mistaken: the Democratic Party had no role in choosing the dates for the scheduled debates, which were selected a year ago by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, a private organization composed of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats.
On Sunday, the Commission on Presidential Debates chose to fire back, as well. Attack the debate schedule and laughably accuse the Democrats of trying to rig it. In 2012 and 2004, two of the three debates were held on the same night as baseball playoff games; in 2008, one of the debates was held on the same night as a baseball playoff game; and in 2000, all three debates were held on the same night as baseball playoff games.
And Republican Donald Trump isn’t happy about it.
“I’ll tell you what I don’t like”, Trump told George Stephanopoulos.
According to CNN Money, the presidential debates were scheduled in September of 2015, and has nothing to do with the hopeful distraction of Mondy Night Football as Trump and RNC chief strategist Sean Spicer claim.
This isn’t the first time Donald Trump has set his sites on the NFL.
“The CPD did not consult with any political parties or campaigns in making these decisions”, the commission said in a statement issued Saturday.
“Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump debating each other, which is of interest to the entire country. there is a massive national interest, we just saw that in both national conventions breaking records”, he said. “That’s something we’ll be discussing as we go into negotiations”.
The commission, established in 1987 to organize and manage the presidential debates, said it is impossible to avoid all sporting events when scheduling the debates.
Should the presidential debates be rescheduled?
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.
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‘It’s unfortunate that millions of voters will be disenfranchised by these chosen dates, ‘ they added.
