RNC suspends debate partnership with NBC

WASHINGTON - The Republican National Committee announced Friday that it was suspending its partnership with NBC News for a presidential debate in February, moving fast as anger at CNBC's handling of Wednesday night's Republican forum boiled over.

In a letter to NBC News chairman Andrew Lack, RNC chairman Reince Priebus said that their relationship for the debate, scheduled for Feb. 26 at the University of Houston, was on hold "pending further discussion."

The RNC has faced increasingly vocal - and active - dissatisfaction with the debate process from presidential contenders after Wednesday night's faceoff, with candidates and their campaigns complaining that CNBC conducted the debate in "bad faith" and asked questions in an attempt to spark infighting. "We simply cannot continue with NBC without full consultation with our campaigns," Priebus wrote Friday.

In a statement, NBC News called the RNC's decision "disappointing."

"However, along with our debate broadcast partners at Telemundo we will work in good faith to resolve this matter with the Republican Party," the network said.

Priebus noted that a debate would still be held on that day and that the RNC would continue to work with its partner in the event, the National Review. But he did not say whether Telemundo, the only Spanish-language media organization hosting a debate in the Republican primary, would remain a part of the partnership.

The decision was generally praised by GOP campaigns, most of which have complained about the way the primary debates have been handled. Donald Trump even used his closing statement on Wednesday to take credit for negotiating a shorter debate time, so the candidates could "get the hell out of here." Like several other barbs aimed at the CNBC moderators, it earned loud applause.

"The campaign supports the RNC's decision to suspend the debate on February 26th due to the total lack of substance and respect exhibited during Wednesday's night's debate," Trump's spokeswoman Hope Hicks said Friday. "We look forward to pursuing alternatives along with the RNC to ensure candidates are given ample opportunity to outline their vision for the future of our country."

A spokesman for Sen. Rand Paul, Sergio Gor, also praised the RNC's move. "We hope networks and future moderators realize that what happened in Colorado should never have occurred," said Gor, whose candidate complained Wednesday night about a lack of time.

Ben Carson's campaign, which was uneasy with Priebus' letter, had been working on its own effort to change forthcoming debates. As far back as May, Carson had sent letters to the RNC chairman, warning that the large and diverse field was ill-served by the debate rules.

"The rules may be good for me personally, but they are not good for the process," he wrote then. "We are blessed to have many qualified candidates running for President. More than a typical debate format can handle. Surely we can find a format that allows every voice to be heard."

Since Wednesday, Carson had directed his team to work with rival campaigns on debate reform. A meeting of campaign staffers was set for Washington on Sunday - and the RNC was not invited.

"After the past few debate debacles, the campaigns are having constant conversations with each other about how to get this back on track," said Hogan Gidley, a spokesman for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. "How can we have a real debate when moderators are more interested in promoting themselves than in getting answers from the candidates? That's the cardinal sin of journalism, and everyone's sick and tired of it."

The meeting Sunday will also include aides for campaigns that have grown frustrated at their relegation to short "undercard" debates, with low ratings, based on national poll numbers that differ somewhat from the strength of candidates in specific states.

"Central planning never works," said Kyle Plotkin, a spokesman for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. "Debates are a crucial part of the democratic process; we should have more, not less. The notion of limiting the number of debates was, and is, a bad idea. The RNC debate gambit was said to involve forcing the media partners to hold substantive debates rather than just a shooting gallery of nasty and unserious questions. It's time to admit that did not work."

Early on, the choice of CNBC as a debate host had seemed like a victory for Priebus' avowed strategy of protecting Republican candidates from a "circus." Priebus had claimed that biased moderators from networks like MSNBC would skew their questions and insult GOP voters.