Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign manager said Tuesday on Fox that it was just fine if the television networks continued to choose which candidates are allowed into the debates.
Some of the GOP campaigns in recent days made a list of demands for for future debates, including requesting a specific temperature for the debate room, and that the networks communicate with candidates directly (instead of the Republican National Committee).
But on Monday, Trump’s campaign said that he would negotiate directly with the networks, as he had done previously.
Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager, appeared on “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson” on Fox News on Tuesday to explain the decision.
“If the networks want to set the criteria of who’s going to be on what is considered the main debate stage, then that’s perfectly fine by us,” Lewandowski said. “If they want to ask the tough questions, I think Mr. Trump has a clear history of answering the hardest questions from each of the last three debates. We feel very comfortable with his debating skills.”
Lewandowski said Trump wants the debate to be limited to two hours, allow time for opening and closing statements, and include “fair and equitable questions.”
“We don’t care what the criteria is as it relates to the temperature in the room or what graphics they’re going to put up next to him,” Lewandowski said. “Let’s go and ask the tough questions. Let’s talk about who’s going to be on that stage and let’s make sure those happen.”
Watch his comments:
