At a campaign rally in Macon, Georgia, on Monday night, Donald Trump toyed with demanding a $5 million payment to appear at the next Republican presidential debate. The reason? CNN, which is hosting the debate on Dec. 15, "doesn't treat me properly," Trump said. During the last GOP debate the news network hosted, he added, "CNN had 23 million people. It was the biggest show in the history of CNN." That gives the master negotiator the upper hand, at least in his estimation.
"How about I tell CNN that I'm not gonna do the next debate?" Trump proposed to the crowd. That got "tepid applause" from the crowd of about 6,000, NBC News says, so Trump elaborated, to cheers: "I won’t do the debate unless they pay me $5 million, all of which money goes to the Wounded Warriors or go to vets." He went on to say that people who are "really, really, really smart like I am" don't need a teleprompter and that he doesn't listen to "talking heads, who are not smart people at all."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Outer Hebrides: a top travel destinationThe Week Recommends Discover 'unspoiled beauty' of the Western Isles
-
The Biltmore Mayfair review: a quintessential slice of luxury LondonThe Week Recommends This swanky retreat in Grosvenor Square blends old-world glamour with modern comforts
-
Is ChatGPT's new search engine OpenAI's Google 'killer'?Talking Point There's a new AI-backed search engine in town. But can it stand up to Google's decades-long hold on internet searches?
-
Moldova's pro-West president wins 2nd termSpeed Read Maia Sandu beat Alexandr Stoianoglo, despite suspicions of Russia meddling in the election
-
2024 race ends with swing state barnstormingSpeed Read Kamala Harris and Donald Trump held rallies in battlegrounds over the weekend
-
North Korea tests ICBM, readies troops in UkraineSpeed Read Thousands of North Korean troops are likely to join Russian action against Ukraine
-
Women take center stage in campaign finaleSpeed Read Harris and Trump are trading gender attacks in the final days before the election
-
US election: who the billionaires are backingThe Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
-
Supreme Court allows purge of Virginia voter rollsSpeed Read Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is purging some 1,600 people from state voter rolls days before the election
-
'Empowered' Steve Bannon released from prisonSpeed Read Bannon was set free a week before Election Day and quickly returned to his right-wing podcast to promote Trump
-
Canada accuses top Modi ally of directing Sikh attacksSpeed Read Indian Home Minister Amit Shah was allegedly behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists
