There was a scare Thursday that Donald Trump might not participate in the third presidential debate. After all, he decided when the GOP primary debates would end. Also, he had complained that Hillary Clinton had been given too much time in the second debate, although as it turns out, Trump had a total of 40 minutes, 10 seconds, while Hillary had 39 minutes, five seconds, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal offered a few more details.
Top Moments
1. Trump dismisses his running mate: “He and I haven’t spoken, and I disagree.”
2. Trump responds to Clinton saying it’s good someone like him isn’t in charge of the law: “Because you’d be in jail.”
3. Trump: “No, I’m a gentleman, Hillary. Go ahead.”The most-discussed topics
1. ISIS
2. Trump Tapes
3. Taxes
4. Government Ethics
5. Healthcare
As noted above, there was concern that Trump would refuse to participate in the third debate, according to the Daily Intelligencer.
Donald Trump blasted the Commission for Presidential Debates on Wednesday, claiming the bipartisan group is “rigged” and declaring himself “done” with it.
“The head guy worked for Bill Clinton. Ay yai yai. What a rigged deal this is,” Trump said at a rally in Florida. He was referring to CPD co-chair Mike McCurry, who served as Clinton’s press secretary for three and a half years. What Trump did not mention is that McCurry’s co-chair is Frank Fahrenkopf, chairman of the Republican National Committee while Ronald Reagan was president.
Trump went on to suggest that he might skip the third debate, scheduled for October 19 in Las Vegas. “I have no respect for that group, by the way, I’m done,” he said of the CPD. Trump spokesperson Jason Miller told the Daily Beast’s Olivia Nuzzi that Trump does, in fact, plan to participate in the third debate.
However, if you listen closely to the tape, Trump didn’t say, “I’m done,” he said, “I have no respect for that group, by the way, I HAVE NONE.”
Re: CPD, Trump said "I have no respect for that group by the way, I have none," not "I'm done." pic.twitter.com/gtQwIlY5vk
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) October 12, 2016
But the odd thing is that Trump just found out who’s in charge of the Commission on Presidential Debats—joint leadership by a Republican and a Democrat. How could a presidential candidate not know that?
Anyway, apparently the debate is on. And that’s good for people who want to bet on it. As we’ve said in our pages, there are many online sites for betting on the election. Our favorite is PredictIt, a New Zealand site that is very user friendly.
If you want to put your money where your mouth is, here are some of the things about the upcoming debate on which you can bet:
1. Viewership for the debate (how many people watch)
2. Who’ll have more speaking time (Trump did in the first two)
3. Who’ll “win” the debate, according to scientific polls
4. Whether a 3rd Party Candidate will participate
5. Whether “John Podesta” will be mentioned (Wikileaks emails)
6. Or “Evan McMullin” (3rd party candidate)
7. Or “Paul Ryan” (House Speaker and party leader)
8. Or “Retirement Age” (Social Security)
9. Or “Lock Her Up” (a chant at Trump rallies)
10. Or “Merrick Garland” (Obama’s obstructed Supreme Court nominee)
11. Will they shake hands before the debate (they didn’t last time)
12. And, finally, will Trump participate in all three debates?
Of course, we’re not encouraging you to gamble. If you participate, you can lose real money. Bet at your own risk.
The upcoming debate will be moderated by Chris Wallace, of Fox News. He has already said he will not “fact check” the candidates, but if he hears a questionable answer, he intends to give the opponent a chance to do so.
Fox has also announced the topics of the debate.
Chris Wallace announces topics for third presidential debate
The topics have been chosen for third and final presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday.
The debate, moderated by Fox News Channel’s Chris Wallace, will take place on Wednesday, October 19 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The topics selected by Wallace, not necessarily to be brought up in this order, include:
Debt and entitlements
Immigration
Economy
Supreme Court
Foreign hot spots
Fitness to be President
The format calls for six 15-minute time segments, with each 15-minute segment focusing on each of the topics.
Tune in live for the final Presidential Debate on Wednesday, October 19th.
