Agrees to two-hour debate
After threats by Carson and Trump to pull out of the upcoming CNBC presidential debate, the network agrees to a two-hour format including commercials, and also agrees candidates can have opening and closing statements. GOP campaign source:
People realized we got the short end of the stick when the Democrats had a 2 minute opening and a 90 second closing [during their debate], so they had three and a half minutes to a 15 million person audience of an infomercial. They get a commercial, we get The Hunger Games.
.@CNBC has just agreed that the debate will be TWO HOURS. Fantastic news for all, especially the millions of people who will be watching!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2015