Just a reminder of how the “give the money to the veterans” thing started. Trump knew that the media was raking in the money. He explained this over and over. The debates are a public service..
Billionaire Points to 4,000% Increase in Cost for Commercials
“Mr. Trump said CNN should view the debate “as a public service and not accept the massive profits that this airing will generate,” suggesting they instead go to various veterans’ groups.”
I don’t think he made an unreasonable request, no more than a football game gets a revenue share....
Of course, this is one reason why Trump is rich...he just thinks differently than other people...
Just to finish off...more on debate ad rates...
http://adage.com/article/media/trump-cnn-donate-ad-revenue-gop-debate/300281/
CNN is charging a steep $200,000 for 30 seconds of commercial time in the debate, some 40 times its usual price for prime time ads, as Ad Age reported first earlier this month. That price is so elevated that Donald Trump argued CNN should give away the “massive profits,” to veterans’ groups.
http://adage.com/article/media/cnn-republican-debate-draws-23-million-viewers/300424/
http://adage.com/article/media/rand-paul-ad-during-republican-debate-cnn/300388/
Trump wants to show that Fox News lost viewership for a reason beyond ego...there is a good chance that Trump is already thinking about negotiating with a donation for the next debate with CBS news.
Trump will want to negotiate from a position of strength.
Four more debates left, CBS, CNN (2) and then, Fox News.