Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told CNBC on Thursday the media has focused too much on his refusal at the debate to commit to accepting the election results.

Vowing to adhere to the outcome of an election that has not been held yet is "insane," Conway said on "Squawk Box," the morning after the third and final presidential debate with Hillary Clinton.

"Of course if there is no widespread fraud and irregularities and evidence of malfeasance, you can count on him for a peaceful transfer of power," Conway affirmed. She said it's not fair that Trump has to "lay out every single possible hypothetical and parse every word."

She cited the 2000 election as a cautionary tale.

"Had you asked Al Gore sitting in this chair 16 years ago, if it looks like George W. Bush has won the election will you concede, [he would say] 'sure of course I'd congratulate him and I'll work with him," she hypothesized.

"But things change don't they," she argued. "On election night 2000 ... Al Gore called George W. Bush to concede the election, and then retracted the concession ... because of circumstances he could not have foreseen."

After the Florida recount saga, Bush won his first term.



"Why would [Trump] before he knows the results and their verified and they're certified concede an election that didn't happen yet. That's insane," Conway said.



She said Trump faces a voting system rigged against him and a deluge of negative media coverage every day. "We're not going to whine about it, but I think people should at least admit it," she said. She said the media are fawning all over Clinton.