Trump, Carson threaten to boycott upcoming debate

Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson are threatening to boycott the next GOP debate over its proposed format.

The two political outsiders wrote in a joint letter to CNBC on Thursday that they will not appear at the Oct. 28 debate unless its length is capped at two hours, including commercials.

They also insist that the debate include opening and closing statements from all the candidates.

The last GOP debate, aired on CNN, stretched on for a marathon three hours, earning complaints.

CNBC says in a statement that it’s aiming to host “the most substantive debate possible” and will be taking the candidates’ views into account.

KRDO NewsChannel 13 political expert Josh Dunn weighed in on whether or not it would hurt the two candidates in the GOP’s race for the nomination.

“If I had to choose, I would say it would hurt them. But since Colorado really won’t play a role in the nominating process, they can try to spin it as avoiding a debate in a state with no significance,” said Dunn.

Voters said they would be disappointed if the candidates didn’t participate, but would still watch.

“I will still watch it but kind of with a heavy heart,” said Lauren Bermudez.

“I would say it would lose some of it’s amusement value if Trump wasn’t there, but I’m not sure how much content it would actually loose,” said Dave Maier.

“I’ll be disappointed but like I said, I want to see what the other candidates say about them not being there and their opinions,” said Brett Rains.

“I think it would dramatically change the landscape of the debate,” said Joe Hollmann. “Trump is fun to watch because you never know what’s going to come out of his mouth.”

Trump and Carson have developed a unique rapport, with little fighting between the two.

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