Trump: I Had NH Newspaper Booted From GOP Debate

The New Hampshire Union Leader has been dropped as ABC's co-sponsor for a GOP debate next month—or, according to Donald Trump, they were "kicked out of the ABC News debate like a dog." New Hampshire's biggest newspaper has been fiercely critical of Trump and he took full credit for the change, saying its role in the debate is "unfair and a conflict for all the other candidates," the Hill reports. In a statement, Union Leader publisher Joseph McQuaid—who has run front-page anti-Trump editorials—slammed the "spineless" network. "We are amused by ABC News apparently just discovering that we endorse candidates and write editorials," he said. "We have been doing both for many years and it has never been a problem with ABC or other debate sponsors."

But while Trump, who blasted the paper and McQuaid in a series of tweets Sunday, considers the move something to boast about, sources tell Politico that ABC was considering dropping the Union Leader from its minor role in the debate anyway because of disagreements that followed the Democratic debate in New Hampshire last month. The Washington Post reports that Trump also slammed the NFL yesterday, telling a rally in Reno that while he still loves Tom Brady, he finds football almost unwatchable now because it has "become soft like our country has become soft." "It's become weak and you know what? It’s going to affect the NFL," he said. "The referees, they want to all throw flags so their wives see them at home. 'Oh, there’s my husband.'" (More Donald Trump stories.)