- The Washington Times - Saturday, August 1, 2015

The Sunday morning talk shows could be a little more spirited than usual. Donald Trump will be the featured guest on both NBC’s “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd” and ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopolous” to have his say on the upcoming GOP candidate debate, and much more.

“The center of the debate stage: Chuck will talk to the GOP frontrunner as he prepares for his first debate,” NBC advises in their lead-up to the broadcast, billing Mr. Trump as chairman and president, The Trump Organization.

The appearance follows weeks of media headlines about “Trump talk” dominating the weekly conversations which are must-see viewing among political insiders. There is some history here as well. In January, Mr. Todd told his audience, “Nobody’s going to mistake Donald Trump for a presidential candidate, I don’t think, other than Donald Trump.”

The billionaire responded in a tweet, “Word is that @NBCNews is firing sleepy eyes Chuck Todd in that his ratings on Meet the Press are setting record lows. He’s a real loser!”

Both Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus and Deborah Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee will also appear, along with Ben Carson, also a Republican presidential hopeful.

“It’s interesting watching the rise of Donald Trump. Do you think that his rise has helped the idea of outsiders? Or does it hurt you right now as a candidate?” Mr. Todd asks Mr. Carson during the Sunday broadcast.

“I think it’s a tremendous help. It’s a tremendous aid because fewer people are talking about my lack of political experience now. And that’s good because, you know, experience can come from a variety of different places. And certainly the life that [I] have led in my case - solving complex problems, being involved in corporate America, starting a national nonprofit - you get an enormous amount of experience doing these things, particularly in solving problems. It’s an erroneous thought that only political experience is expedient,” Mr. Carson replies.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Priebus will also be featured on ABC, along with GOP candidate Rick Santorum and Democratic hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Over on “Fox News with Chris Wallace,” the guests are Rick Perry and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. CNN’s “State of the Union with Jake Tapper” features Gov. Chris Christie.  All will be weighing in on the debate as well.

• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.

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