Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would "absolutely" debate Hillary Clinton three times leading up to the November election, though he will try to re-negotiate the terms set last fall by a bipartisan commission.
"I will absolutely do three debates," the Republican nominee told Time magazine in an interview. "I want to debate very badly. But I have to see the conditions."
The Commission on Presidential Debates, a bipartisan organization, has scheduled three debates: Sept. 26 in Hempstead, N.Y.; Oct. 9 in St. Louis; and Oct. 19 in Las Vegas.
The vice presidential candidates will debate in Farmville, Va., on Oct. 4.
The commission is headed by Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Michael McCurry, who was a press secretary to former Democratic President Bill Clinton.
The panel announced the schedule for each 90-minute debate last September. The format also has been decided upon. Trump attacked the line-up last month, calling it "unacceptable" because the presidential contests coincided with three National Football League games.
Clinton agreed to the schedule Tuesday and challenged Trump to do likewise.
Trump told Time that he would seek to negotiate new terms for those debates, as he did during the primaries.
"I renegotiated the debates in the primaries, remember?" he said. "They were making a fortune on them — and they had us in for three and a half hours and I said that's ridiculous.
"I'm sure they'll be open to any suggestions I have, because I think they'll be very fair suggestions," Trump added. "But I haven't [seen the conditions] yet.
"They're actually presented to me tonight."
No debate moderators have been announced, but Trump told Time that he reserved the right to voice any objections.
In 2012, Republicans cried foul at Candy Crowley of CNN becoming involved in an exchange between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
"I'll have to see who the moderators are," Trump said. "I would say that certain moderators would be unacceptable, absolutely.
"I did very well in the debates on the primaries. According to the polls, I won all of them.
"So, I look forward to the debates," he added. "But, yeah, I want to have fair moderators. I will demand fair moderators."
A debate commission official told Time that candidates have tried to circumvent the rules over the years. The panel has been organizing the general-election debates since 1988.
"This needs to be done in the same way we've done this," the official said. "There are fine points that get negotiated.
"If there is a strong preference about the set, that can be discussed," the individual added.
For instance: "You want to do something that is respectful for candidates of different heights."
Otherwise, the announced format is non-negotiable, the official said.