Following a disastrous Republican presidential primary debate hosted by CNBC on Wednesday, GOP chairman Reince Priebus informed NBC today that the party is suspending the network’s scheduled debate in February of 2016. NBC is the parent company of CNBC.
Priebus disclosed his letter to NBC via Twitter early Friday afternoon:
I just sent this letter to NBC News suspending our partnership for the February Debate: https://t.co/MVke5m2EBm
Reince Priebus (@Reince) October 30, 2015
“I write to inform you that pending further discussion between the Republican National Committee (RNC) and our presidential campaigns, we are suspending the partnership with NBC News for the Republican primary debate at the University of Houston on February 26, 2016,” Priebus wrote to NBC News chairman Andrew Lack. “The RNC’s sole role in the primary debate process is to ensure that our candidates are given a full and fair opportunity to lay out their vision for America’s future. We simply cannot continue with NBC without full consultation with our campaigns.”
Priebus specifically called out CNBC’s debate moderators for asking questions that were “petty and mean-spirited in tone, and designed to embarrass our candidates.”
“While we are suspending our partnership with NBC News and its properties, we still fully intend to have a debate on that day, and will ensure that National Review remains part of it,” Priebus concluded.
You can read his full letter to NBC News announcing the GOP’s suspension of its scheduled February debate here.
