A high-level source at CNN says the network won’t give in to Donald Trump’s demand to donate $10 million to charity as a condition of Trump appearing at the network’s upcoming Republican presidential debate.
Trump said in a recent interview that he was considering making this demand to CNN if the network wants him at the debate. Trump said at the time that his plan is based on the theory that he’s the one that drove huge ratings for Fox News on Aug. 6, and that his appearance at CNN would be a ratings bonanza.
“If I’m in it, they’ll get this crazy audience, and they’re going to make a fortune since they’re selling commercials every time we take a break,” Trump told Time in August. “Would you ever say to them, would you ever say, I want $10 million for AIDS research, for cancer, for this type or not, or is it too cute?”
But a source at CNN told the Washington Examiner media desk that Trump’s flirt with soft extortion won’t go anywhere.
“We’re not going to be held ransom over TV ratings,” the source said. “That’s silly.”
Still, Trump seems to have caught onto the idea that he’s bringing a star power that is new to debates that are taking place more than a year away from the election. The Fox News debate attracted 24 million viewers, and was the highest-rated broadcast in the history of the ratings juggernaut. More people watched that debate than those who watched the NBA Finals, or last year’s World Series.
By comparison, the first GOP primary debate in 2011 was watched by just 3.2 million people.
On Wednesday, it was reported that CNN is well aware of the ratings boom it’s about to receive, which many attribute to Trump. CNN is reportedly charging companies 40 times more than its normal rates for advertisements during the debate.
