"'I wouldn't believe a word Trump said even if he had his tongue notarized.'"

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COMMENTS: 
*  "Fib", Steve? A fib is when you are eight years old and you tell your mother you brushed your teeth. When you are running for president and tell lie after lie after lie, THAT is what they are: LIES! Outright, flagrant, easily-checked LIES. This man is incapable of telling the truth.  "Thousands and thousands of Muslims celebrating 9/11" "I snubbed the Koch's; they didn't snub me." "I opposed the Iraq War." My personal favorite is one a fact checker caught: Trump (to O'Reilly during the RNC): "I wanted [the convention] to be here and we had lots of choices. I wanted it to be in Ohio, I recommended Ohio, and people fought very hard that it be in Ohio." The Facts: The RNC Site Selection Committee announced in July 2014 its recommendation of Cleveland as the site of the convention. Trump announced his intention to run for president nearly a year later, in June 2015. Fact checkers would be much better off reporting on when he says something that IS true. As a New York City official said, "I wouldn't believe a word Trump said even if he had his tongue notarized."
*  It is not a fib or a white lie, it is pathological and it is Trump
*  I would really like to know if Trump follows through, and boycotts the debate/s, then schedules a stunt at the same time (a la Repub primary FNC feud), will the major networks commit to NOT giving him coverage because it is "news?" He doesn't deserve to be rewarded for child-like, petulant behavior (especially at the expense of a real debate between Clinton and Johnson, if it happens, anyway).
*  ... Trump has already changed his story.  Now he claims a source 'close to the NFL' told somebody in his campaign the NFL was unhappy with the schedule!  In other words, there is no letter - Trump is a liar.
*  Say it like it is...a lie. Fib is for youngsters, not presidential candidates. Call him out...don't sugarcoat his antics!
*  Stop worrying about the debates.  There won't be any.  Trump will find a way to weasel out because he is not capable of participating in a constructive debate, conversation, or anything else.
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Caught in a fib, Trump hedges on debate schedule
By Steve Benen, August 1, 2016

It may seem hard to believe, but the first general-election presidential debate is next month. On Monday, Sept. 26, the major-party candidates – and any third-party candidate with more than 15% support in national polls – will meet for the first of three widely anticipated showdowns.

What’s unclear is whether or not Donald Trump will agree to participate.

Late Friday, the Republican nominee argued via Twitter that it’s “unacceptable” that Hillary Clinton and Democrats are “trying to rig the debates” so that they compete against “major NFL games.” A day later, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked the Republican nominee about his plans in an interview that aired yesterday on “This Week.”

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s talk about debates. You’re gonna accept the recommendations of the Debate Commission, three debates, one VP debate?

TRUMP: Well, I’ll tell you what I don’t like. It’s against two NFL games. I got a letter from the NFL saying, “This is ridiculous. Why are the debates against–” ‘cause the NFL doesn’t wanna go against the debates. ‘Cause the debates are gonna be pretty massive, from what I understand, okay? And I don’t think we should be against the NFL. I don’t know how the dates were picked.

Well, a couple of things. First, Trump should probably learn “how the dates were picked” before popping off. In reality, Clinton and Democrats didn’t set the schedule; the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates picked the dates last fall.

Second, Trump claims the NFL sent him a letter about this. That doesn’t appear to be true: the NFL insisted over the weekend that the league never sent any such letter.

All of which leads to questions about whether the Republican nominee may ultimately balk at the agreed upon schedule.

On “Face the Nation” yesterday, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was asked directly whether the candidate will agree to show up for the scheduled debates. Manafort replied, “He said he wants to participate in it, but just like we discovered in the hack of the DNC, Mrs. Clinton likes low audiences watching her debates.” He added, “So, we’re going to sit down with the commission in the next week or so and we’re going to start talking to them.”

In other words, it sounds as if Team Trump sees the existing schedule as the starting point for negotiations – which may include recommendations for significant changes.

And if those “talks” don’t go the way the Trump campaign wants? No one can say for sure exactly what might happen at that point.

Hillary Clinton has already agreed to participate in the three scheduled debates. It’s a safe bet that if Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson qualifies, he’ll be there, too.

For its part, the commission issued a statement yesterday saying it would be “impossible” to avoid conflicts with sporting events, and commissioners have a point. In late September and October, debate organizers are confronted with professional football games three nights a week, college football games at least one night a week, and major-league baseball playoffs.

This comes up every four years. Everyone involved does their best to work around the schedule.

Remember, while many Americans have come to expect these showdowns as a normal part of every election, Trump doesn’t have to participate. In the 1964, 1968, and 1972 election cycles, there were no debates at all. In 1992, then-President George H.W. Bush acted as if he really wanted to get out of the debates, but Bill Clinton’s campaign hired a guy to dress up in a chicken suit to mock the incumbent at public events, and Bush eventually relented.

Trump, the first nominee to suggest without proof that the process itself is “rigged,” will soon be confronted with a decision: would it be worse to appear cowardly by skipping some or all of the debates, or by showing up and doing poorly?

Or is this some kind of elaborate expectations-setting game, in which Team Trump tries to set the bar for success so low that if the GOP candidate shows up and avoids collapsing, he and his allies will declare him the winner?

Postscript: For the record, here’s the list of the scheduled debates, as agreed upon by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.

Sep 26, 2016 (Monday): First presidential debate, Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y.
Oct 4, 2016 (Tuesday): Vice presidential debate, Longwood University, Farmville, Va.
Oct 9, 2016 (Sunday): Second presidential debate, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Mo.
Oct 19, 2016 (Wednesday): Third presidential debate, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nev.
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