Republican National Committee Says It's Still 'In Control' of GOP Presidential Debates
The Republican National Committee announced this week that it is still in full control of the presidential GOP debates despite recent criticism.
RNC chairman Rence Priebus said in a recent interview that the committee still fully holds leverage over when and where the debates will take place.
"The truth is, we're involved, we're in control. We're setting the calendar," Priebus told ABC's "Good Morning America" this week. "The ability to sanction or de-sanction a debate is with the RNC. And the candidates want that to be with the RNC because we have the leverage to make that happen."
Priebus' comments come after some 2016 presidential hopefuls criticized the format of the recent debate hosted by CNBC and held in Boulder, Colorado.
The moderators of the recent CNBC debate received criticism for asking disrespectful and unimportant questions of candidates.
Following the debate, Priebus announced that it would be pulling the upcoming debate planned in February from the NBC network.
"The CNBC network is one of your media properties, and its handling of the debate was conducted in bad faith," Priebus said in a statement. "We understand that NBC does not exercise full editorial control over CNBC's journalistic approach. However, the network is an arm of your organization, and we need to ensure there is not a repeat performance."
"I have tremendous respect for the First Amendment and freedom of the press. However, I also expect the media to host a substantive debate on consequential issues important to Americans. CNBC did not," Priebus added.
