CNN has so far ignored Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s demand that the network donate the profits from this week’s GOP debate to charity, other than covering Trump’s initial demand as a new story last week.
The billionaire businessman made a splash last week when he called on CNN in an open letter to donate the profits it generates from the GOP debate on Wednesday to a veteran’s charity.
In an interview published Sunday with the Los Angeles Times, CNN President Jeff Zucker declined to comment on Trump’s demand. He said, however, that much of the money CNN gets from the debate will be used to recuperate funds the network has invested in its political coverage.
A spokesperson for Trump said the campaign had yet to hear back from CNN about the demand. A spokesperson for CNN declined to comment, but last week, 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.”
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, and last week, Trump took credit for the higher prices and said CNN should donate the money it makes.
“[Y]ou should view the second debate broadcast as a public service and not accept the massive profits that this airing will generate,” Trump said in the letter to CNN President Jeff Zucker. “I believe that all profits from this broadcast should go to various veterans groups, a list of which I will send to you in the near future.”
“While I refuse to brag, and as you know very well, this tremendous increase in viewer interest and advertising is due 100 percent to ‘Donald J. Trump,'” he wrote. “This large contribution of many millions of dollars would be a truly wonderful thing for CNN to do.”
Trump did not say he would refuse to show up at the debate if CNN refused his request. However, in a recent interview, Trump floated the idea of asking the network to donate $10 million to charity in exchange for the GOP front-runner’s appearance on stage.
“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?”
