GOP presidential campaigns meet, agree to modest demands for future debates


For more than two hours on Sunday evening, representatives from most of the Republican presidential campaigns met in a conference room at a Hilton in suburban Washington, D.C., to discuss how they can seize more control over the presidential debates. The meeting was hosted by the Ben Carson campaign and moderated by longtime Republican lawyer and fixer Ben Ginsberg. Afterward, Ginsberg, who has experience negotiating debates, phoned the Republican National Committee's new point man for debates, Chief Operation Officer Sean Cairncross — named late Sunday, in a shakeup seen as trying to appease the campaigns — with an outline of the campaigns' proposed changes.
After looking over a draft written up by Ginsberg on Monday, the campaigns will collectively send their demands to the networks by Tuesday evening. Some of the candidates came in with pretty elaborate suggestions, but the consensus list appears to include a two-hour time limit, opening and closing statements of at least 30 seconds for each candidate, pre-approval of on-screen graphics during the debate, no lightning rounds, earlier deadlines for getting the candidates the rules and format of the debate, and equal speaking time, according to Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett. The networks don't have to abide by the demands, and some candidates said they might boycott the debates if the requests aren't honored.
Jeb Bush's campaign manager Danny Diaz suggested reinstating a debate hosted by Telemundo, but Donald Trump's reportedly threatened a boycott. There was also no agreement to the suggestion by several low-polling candidates to scrap the "undercard" debate and hold two debates with seven candidates each chosen randomly. But "the campaigns reached an early consensus on one issue, according to several operatives in the room: the secure standing of Fox News Channel," reports The Washington Post. "Any changes would be applied to debates after next week's Fox Business Network debate. Among the reasons, according to one operative in the room, was that 'people are afraid to make Roger [Ailes] mad,' a reference to the network's chief."
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The Week contest: Flight fraud
Puzzles and Quizzes
-
Is Trump sidelining Congress' war powers?
Today's Big Question The Iran attack renews a long-running debate
-
6 productivity-ready homes with great offices
Feature Featuring an office with a gas fireplace in Oregon and a shared workspace with wraparound windows in Massachusetts
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday