Donald Trump threatens CNBC over Republican debate format, then cools off

New York: CNBC and the Republican presidential candidates agreed Friday on the format for the third debate, a day after Donald Trump and Ben Carson threatened to boycott unless they got their way, the network said. The 28 October debate will be two hours long and include closing statements from the participating candidates, said Brian Steel, CNBC spokesman. [caption id=“attachment_2344004” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Donald Trump/ Reuters[/caption] In a joint letter to CNBC’s Washington bureau chief Thursday, the billionaire businessman and retired neurosurgeon told the hosting network they would not appear at the 28 October debate unless it was capped at two hours including commercials and the candidates were allowed to speak directly to the camera at its opening and close. CNBC had proposed two hours of debating time not including four commercial breaks, meaning the actual time the candidates would be onstage would be some 15 minutes longer. The most recent debate, on CNN, lasted three hours with commercial breaks, a duration that left some of the candidates complaining. Since the debates have set records for high ratings, television networks have an incentive to keep the candidates onstage and on the air for as long as they possibly can. CNBC had also initially called for no opening and closing statements, which made some candidates unhappy because it would take away their best chance to speak directly to voters without having to be called on to respond to a question. AP