Donald Trump threatens to skip the next GOP debate if it's going to last more than two hours

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

last updated 15 October 2015

The last Republican debate was so painfully long that many people bailed before it even reached the closing remarks. On Thursday, Donald Trump himself threatened to skip out on CNBC's Republican presidential debate on Oct. 28 if it is going to last longer than two hours total including commercial breaks, Politico reports.

The incident erupted during a conference call with the Republican National Committee, when "three sources who were also on the line" claimed that Corey Lewandowski, Trump's campaign manager, issued the demands and said if they were not met, Trump would "reconsider his participation." In addition to wanting to keep the debate short and sweet, Trump reportedly also insisted the debate have opening and closing statements, which are currently excluded from CNBC's plans for the evening.

"The criteria that was outlined by CNBC was never discussed with any of the candidates or the campaigns. So what CNBC did was send out a memo and said, 'Here's the criteria as you have approved them and that went out to all the campaigns. We said we never agreed to this criteria,'" Lewandowski explained to The New York Times. On an earlier phone call, aides to Ben Carson and Sen. Rand Paul also reportedly expressed frustration with the proposed structure.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox