Donald Trump, GOP Debate - H 2015
AP ImagesDonald Trump continues to play hardball when it comes to appearing in future GOP presidential debates.
In an Iowa press conference on Tuesday, the current frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination told the audience that he deserves to get paid for his debate appearances, given that 24 million viewers tuned in to Fox News to watch him and his opponents spar in the first event last month.
Related Stories
Trump said he is “thinking about” asking CNN’s Jeff Zucker to give $10 million to the charity of Trump’s choosing before the network’s upcoming debate, which CNN’s Jake Tapper is moderating from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library on Sept. 16.
“Otherwise, I’m not going to debate,” Trump said.
Trump had made similar comments in his recent Time magazine interview but was particularly fervent about the message during Tuesday’s speech.
In the press conference, Trump also praised Fox News’ Roger Ailes, which comes after the cable channel’s chairman criticized him earlier in the day for his continued feud with Megyn Kelly.
The real estate mogul unsurprisingly had no shortage of positive words for himself, which in this case included his writing prowess. He said that the nation’s leaders need to read his 1987 book Trump: The Art of the Deal, which he called his second favorite book behind the Bible.
This speech followed the presidential candidate kicking Univision journalist Jorge Ramos out of an Iowa event earlier in the day after Ramos questioned him on immigration.
