CNN won’t pay $5 million to Trump for debate

by Lisa Hagen - 12/03/15 12:53 PM ET

CNN’s president said the network won’t pay Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump $5 million to participate in the next GOP primary debate on Dec. 15.

“We do not pay candidates to appear” on the network, CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker told BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith at a Thursday event hosted by the Paley Center for Media.

During a Georgia rally on Monday, Trump challenged CNN to pay him $5 million, which he said he would donate to military charities, to appear at the next GOP debate.

{mosads}”How about I tell CNN, who doesn’t treat me properly … I’m not gonna do the next debate, OK?” Trump asked the crowd on Monday.

He continued, “I won’t do the debate unless they pay me $5 million, all of which goes to wounded warriors or goes to vets.”

During the Thursday event, Zucker also discussed CNN’s coverage of Trump and was asked if the network should assume responsibility for commenting on some of Trump’s controversial remarks.

“I don’t think it’s our role to take a point of view,” Zucker said, according to Variety. “It’s our role to report what he says, what he does, to fact check what he says and what he does. It’s not our role to build up a campaign or take down a campaign.”

The next GOP debate, which will be hosted by CNN, will take place on Dec. 15 in Las Vegas.

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