Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is not happy about dates he's scheduled to face-off with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Three presidential debates are scheduled to take place this election year on Sept. 6, Oct. 9 and Oct. 19. Two of those dates, however, fall on the same nights as prime-time NFL games -- on Sept. 26, the Atlanta Falcons will play the New Orleans Saints and on Oct. 9, the New York Giants will play the Green Bay Packers.
Trump took to Twitter on Friday to voice his frustration and point fingers straight at Democrats.
"As usual, Hillary and the (Democrats) are trying to rig the debates, so (two) are up against major NFL games," he wrote. "Same as last time (with) Bernie. Unacceptable!"
He elaborated on his claim in an interview Sunday on ABC's "This Week," and claimed that even NFL officials were peeved by the schedule.
"I tell you what I don't like, (the debates are) against two NFL games," Trump said. "I got a letter from the NFL saying this is ridiculous … because the NFL doesn't want to go against the debates, because the debates are going to be pretty massive, from what I understand."
He went on to place the blame on Clinton and explain his reference to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
"Hillary Clinton wants to be against the NFL," Trump said. "She doesn't maybe like she did with Bernie Sanders, where they were on Saturday nights when nobody's home. But they're against the NFL."
So did Clinton "rig" the debates?
No, she didn't.
The bipartisan Commission of Presidential Debates released this year's schedule in September 2015, long before either Trump or Clinton secured their party's nomination. At the time, there were still 15 Republicans gunning for the GOP nomination and Clinton was facing off with Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley.
The NFL, meanwhile, released its schedule for the regular season in April. A Trump aide told CNN on Sunday that Trump only realized that the debate schedule conflicted with football games after a source close to the league tipped Trump off.
It's not unusual for debates to fall on nights with sporting events. According to FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, one debate held in 2012 fell on the same night the Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears. Two of the debates that year were held as baseball playoff games were held. In fact, in 2000, all three debates took place on the same nights as baseball playoff games.
It's worth noting that the NFL has denied complaining to Trump about the debate schedule.
"While we would obviously wish the Debate Commission could find another night, we did not send a letter to Mr. Trump," NFL officials said in a statement released over the weekend.
About the Author
