Here’s what happens when you air an interview more than 36 hours after it occurs. George Stephanopoulos‘ sit-down with Donald Trump, which occurred Friday in Colorado Springs, has been made multiple headlines, required responses, engendered tweets and led to a flurry of reporting.
In addition to comments on Vladimir Putin, Michael Bloomberg, and Khizr Khan, Trump was asked about the upcoming slate of presidential debates.
Stephanopoulos: You’re gonna accept the recommendations of the Debate Commission, three debates, one VP debate?
AdvertisementTrump: Well, I’ll tell you what I don’t like. It’s against two NFL games. I got a letter from the NFL saying, “This is ridiculous. Why are the debates against–” ’cause the NFL doesn’t wanna go against the debates. ‘Cause the debates are gonna be pretty massive, from what I understand, okay? And I don’t think we should be against the NFL. I don’t know how the dates were picked. I don’t know why those particular dates–
Stephanopoulos: So you don’t like the dates that are out there.
Trump: Well, I don’t like dates against– you know, Hillary Clinton wants to be against the NFL. She doesn’t, maybe like she did with Bernie Sanders, where they were on Saturday nights when nobody’s home. But they’re against the NFL. I saw the dates. So I’m not thrilled with that. But I like three debates. I think that’s fine.
CNN’s Brian Stelter reached out to the NFL about that letter:
Top @NFL spokesman tells me: “While we’d obviously wish the debate commission could find another night, we did not send a letter to Trump.”
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 30, 2016
The Trump campaign clarified that this morning saying the candidate “was made aware of the conflicting dates by a source close to the league.” But it wouldn’t take a source close to the league. All it would take is looking at the calendar that was released 10 months ago. The Commission on Presidential debates chose the dates and locations in September, 2015. The first and second presidential debates will clash with Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football, respectively.
- First presidential debate:
Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 | Wright State University, Dayton. (Moved to Hofstra University) - Vice presidential debate:
Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016 | Longwood University, Farmville, Va. - Second presidential debate:
Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016 | Washington University, St. Louis - Third presidential debate:
Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 | University of Nevada, Las Vegas