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Trump says Clinton trying to rig debates with NFL conflicts

Trump told ABC: “You know, Hillary Clinton wants to be against the NFL”.

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The NFL denied sending Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump a letter complaining that NFL games will take place at the same time as two of three Presidential debates after Trump claimed he received such a letter from the NFL. That claim was easy to disprove – the debate schedule was determined nearly a year ago by a private group made up of both Democrats and Republicans. It’s been predicted by political pundits that the debates between Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton could pull record ratings, which would logically cut into the NFL’s ratings on the two conflicting nights.

The first presidential debate will conflict with a Falcons-Saints game that was probably not going to be all that watched anyway.

Donald Trump doesn’t seem too keen on his three upcoming debates against Hillary Clinton. The schedule for the 2016 debates was announced, almost a year ago, in September 2015.

Trump, while whining about two of the debates coming on the same night as NFL games, told ABC News the league sent him a letter saying “this is ridiculous”.

Trump’s tweet also brought up Bernie Sanders, saying “same as last time w/ Bernie”, a veiled reference to the Democratic primary debate calendar.

The commission “did not consult with any political parties or campaigns in making these decisions”, according to a statement issued Saturday.

“Sunday night is a awful time to have a debate, because there are so many great shows on”, Stelter said at the time. The second debate is on October 9, during the Giants vs. Packers Sunday night game.

The parties are not involved in the debate scheduling, a point that Spicer made on CNN: The commission “announces the dates without consultation of the parties or the candidates”.

Before Trump weighed in, former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau asserted on Friday’s “Keepin’ It 1600” podcast that Clinton should call for more debate sessions.

“I heard the same thing actually”, Favreau said.

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In an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” the GOP presidential hopeful said the National Football League voiced its dismay about the conflicting primetime slots in a letter to Trump.

AP News in Brief at 12:04 am EDT