In the latest news of how Donald Trump is making a spectacle of American politics, he is demanding that $10 million be donated to charity for him to participate in an upcoming CNN debate.
His demand came in an interview with Time magazine (wonder how much money in donations they demanded from him), which recently put him on his cover. He says:
“Here’s my question: So if I go to CNN and I say, Look, you’re going to have a massive audience, and if I say to them, I want $10 million for charity, nothing for myself, what happens? I’m not showing up, right?” he says. It’s a rhetorical question, the wheels of entrepreneurship are turning, the joy of being Trump dancing on his face. “I’m not showing up unless you give $10 million to cancer, to this, to that. You pick 10 great charities, $1 million per.”
Sounds all right to me, as long as that money doesn’t go to the Center for Medical Progress or the Family Research Council or anything like that. According to Trump, the upside for CNN would be record ratings, like Fox News got when they broadcast the first Republican presidential debate, and a lot of money for commercials.
Fair enough, but what about this counter offer, CNN: refuse to let Donald Trump blackmail you (even if hypothetically), and give the floor to the other clowns running for the Republican nomination. Maybe they’ll say something crazy (or even sensible enough) to take some attention off Trump for a second. Maybe, he’ll then start to go away.
Or he’ll probably hijack everyone’s attention, even without a debate platform. One can dream, though.
The CNN debate is on Sept. 16, at the Ronald Reagan Library.