Donald Trump threatens to boycott debates with Hillary Clinton unless the moderators are 'fair'
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Donald Trump loves to negotiate — even, it seems, when it comes to the terms of presidential debates.
In an interview with Time published Tuesday, the Republican nominee confessed that he wants to debate "very badly" and "will absolutely do three debates" with Hillary Clinton — but he needs to make sure the "conditions" are fair before he agrees to anything.
"I'll have to see who the moderators are. Yeah, I would say that certain moderators would be unacceptable, absolutely," Trump said, per Time's report. "I did very well in the debates on the primaries. According to the polls, I won all of them. So I look forward to the debates. But, yeah, I want to have fair moderators … I will demand fair moderators."
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Although the terms for general election debates are decided far in advance by a bipartisan committee, Trump seems convinced he can succeed where past candidates have failed in convincing the commission to accept his terms and change a long-established event. "I renegotiated the debates in the primaries, remember? They were making a fortune on them and they had us in for three and a half hours and I said that's ridiculous," Trump said. "I'm sure they'll be open to any suggestions I have, because I think they'll be very fair suggestions. But I haven't [seen the conditions] yet."
Clinton has agreed to participate in all three debates. The first one is scheduled for Sept. 26.
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