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”. “I think we’re a big family and I think some of these bruises take time to heal”, he said.
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He replied: “Well, I’ll tell you what I don’t like”. In the same period, there are about 1,000 NFL football games.
The NFL, however, denied sending any letter to Trump.
Both candidates agreed to the schedule. Trump is already losing to support to former Gov. Johnson, and if he fails to show up at the debate, Trump will only give the Libertarian revolt against the GOP a national platform.
Trump hasn’t threatened a boycott. “I don’t know why those particular dates”, Trump told ABC.
It occurs to me that very few folks watch anything on network television at the time it is actually broadcast.
DICKERSON: Do you agree with the nominee that it’s a rigged system, the debates? “The CPD believes the dates for the 2016 debates will serve the American public well”, it continued.
‘The CPD did not consult with any political parties or campaigns in making these decisions, ‘ the commission said in a statement issued Saturday.
The NFL schedule has the Atlanta Falcons at the New Orleans Saints on 26 September and a full programme of games on 9 October.
When asked directly whether Trump would participate, his campaign manager, Paul Manafort, said the Republican candidate “wants to participate” but also seeks “the maximum audience”. The football calendar obviously was set later, but we all know games are on Sundays and Mondays. Friday and Saturday are historically low TV viewership nights. That leaves only Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which themselves may be affected by baseball’s World Series. 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. “We will be at the debates set by the bipartisan debate commission and expect he will too”.
Trump backed out of the long-scheduled Fox News debate several days later.
Spicer acknowledged that the dates were set last September, before the primaries even began, but said that “doesn’t mean it’s a good system”. “You’re also in a situation where virtually everybody watching the debate has made up their minds, so [the debates are] not likely to influence the outcome in and of themselves”. “Unacceptable!” Trump said in a July 29 tweet. Our posture and our position on the debates is that we want as many people, as many voters to be participants in and to see the debates as possible, which is different from the Clinton campaign.
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The Clinton campaign, when asked for a statement on Sunday, directed reporters to a tweet sent by John Podesta, the campaign chairman.
