The Commission on Presidential Debates has arranged debates since 1988. The bipartisan commission sets the dates, selects the moderators, and adjusts the rules within a narrow format that has remained the same for 30 years. Two of the debates are long-form responses on questions from a moderator. The other is a town hall format.

Hillary Clinton has agreed to appear at all three of this year’s scheduled debates.

Donald Trump says he will also commit to three debates … so long as he gets to change all the rules..

“I renegotiated the debates in the primaries, remember? They were making a fortune on them and they had us in for three and a half hours and I said that’s ridiculous,” Trump said. “I’m sure they’ll be open to any suggestions I have, because I think they’ll be very fair suggestions. But I haven’t [seen the conditions] yet. They’re actually presented to me tonight.”

Trump hasn’t seen the conditions. Because, you know, he hasn't bothered to look at the rules and explanations that the CPD has provided for months. And the CPD isn’t making a fortune, because it’s a nonprofit organization.

And since Donald Trump has already had experience with a moderator being mean to him, he also wants to ditch the choices of the commission and pick his own buddies.

Trump said he reserved the right to object to the commission’s choice of moderators, which have not yet been announced.

Trump has, of course, already complained about the dates, including lying about exchanging letters with the NFL.

Right now the CPD rules on the first debate call for six segments on major topics to be selected by the moderator. Which … no. That just won’t work for Trump. He’ rather have three segments of free-form insults, followed by 40 minutes of self-aggrandizement, and wrapping up with a solid discussion on big league body parts. With all-star moderation from Ivanka, Chachi, and Gary Busey.

But Hillary would still win. Which is why all of this nonsense is just preliminary to Donald Trump declaring that he couldn’t possibly debate under such unfair conditions. Rigged! It’s all rigged!