Cruz supporters vow to donate $1.5 million to veteran groups if Trump will debate him one-on-one

(Image credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 28 January 2016

Is this the offer that Donald Trump won't be able to refuse?

In a joint statement, the families of hedge fund executive Robert Mercer and energy investor Toby Neugebauer said if Trump agrees to debate Ted Cruz in Iowa before Sunday, they'll donate $1.5 million to veteran charities. The families have already given millions of dollars to pro-Cruz super PACs, The Washington Post reports. By promising to donate to organizations that help veterans, they're lining up with a cause Trump supports — earlier Wednesday, he said instead of attending the Fox News Republican debate on Thursday, he'll hold his own special event in Des Moines that will benefit vets.

To take advantage of this "truly fantastic deal," Trump just has to consent to an hour-long, one-on-one debate with Cruz, with the candidates deciding on a moderator together. The venue is already booked — Cruz announced on Wednesday he's rented a room at Western Iowa Tech Community College on Saturday night — it's just a matter of whether or not Trump will show up. "I am very excited about the opportunity to see how good of a negotiator Donald Trump is," Neugebauer told the Post. "He has repeatedly said throughout the process that he can negotiate a great deal, and this is a fantastic opportunity for him to do that for the vets."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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