--- title: Trump Campaign Manager: He Didn't 'Lie' About Lester Holt description: When Donald Trump called the debate moderator a Democrat. He's actually a registered Republican. canonical: https://time.com/4507497/trump-campaign-manager-he-didnt-lie-about-lester-holt-because-he-didnt-know-the-facts/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-26T13:42:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:05.589Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Campaign Manager: He Didn't 'Lie' About Lester Holt og:description: When Donald Trump called the debate moderator a Democrat. He's actually a registered Republican. og:url: https://time.com/4507497/trump-campaign-manager-he-didnt-lie-about-lester-holt-because-he-didnt-know-the-facts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb375b8b06d5188b/6988a77397cdff5bcb6adeac/gettyimages-610197168.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4200 og:image:height: 2363 og:image:alt: Donald Trump Campaigns In Roanoke, Virginia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Campaign Manager: He Didn't 'Lie' About Lester Holt twitter:description: When Donald Trump called the debate moderator a Democrat. He's actually a registered Republican. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb375b8b06d5188b/6988a77397cdff5bcb6adeac/gettyimages-610197168.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Campaign Manager: He Didn't Lie About Lester Holt Because He Didn't Know the Facts > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ae24801f-2403-411c-a999-a7ac11902d0a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What A Clinton vs Trump Debate Might Look Like [Watch (HLS stream): What A Clinton vs Trump Debate Might Look Like](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jeUYQHqg.m3u8) (2:04)  _Published 2016-03-31_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 26, 2016 1:42 PM UTC  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Berglund Center on September 24, 2016 in Roanoke, Virginia. Sara D. Davis—Getty Images Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Berglund Center on September 24, 2016 in Roanoke, Virginia. Sara D. Davis—Getty Images Sara D. Davis—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 26, 2016 1:42 PM UTC Donald Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway says the candidate didn’t lie when her erroneously [labeled NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt](http://time.com/4501616/donald-trump-debate-lester-holt-democrat/), a registered Republican, as a Democrat. Holt will moderate Monday night’s presidential debate at Hofstra University. In an interview on [MSNBC’s Morning Joe](https://twitter.com/Morning%5FJoe/status/780360090687647744), Conway said in order to lie, Trump would have had to know Holt’s party registration to begin with. “I don’t know that he knew what Lester Holt’s voter registration was,” she said. “He didn’t lie. A lie would mean that he knew the man’s party registration.” She added she thinks the candidate’s goal was to convey that the media are biased against conservatives and in general, more liberal. That’s not, however, what Trump said.“By the way, Lester is a Democrat. It’s a phony system. They are all Democrats. It’s a very unfair system,” he said. As [TIME’s Zeke Miller reported](http://time.com/4501616/donald-trump-debate-lester-holt-democrat/), Holt is a registered Republican in New York. Conway insisted on Monday the candidate was trying to make a larger point about media. “The thing that concerns us—not the moderators that have been selected by the commission, because they will be seen as fair and even handed,” Conway said. “What bothers us is the very public and very coordinated attempt to game the refs.” ## Transcript I beat Hillary Clinton in many polls, the queue poll just came out. America didn't stop being great. We have to make it whole again. I'm the only one that beats Hillary Clinton. I have not started on Hillary yet. Believe me, I will start soon. [ APPLAUSE ] I haven't even started. If you don't get an actual check From the Mexican government for 8 or 10 or $ 12 billion, whatever it will cost. How are you going to make them pay for the wall? I will. He's talking about a very tall wall. And the wall just got ten feet taller. That would run the entire border. Paid for by Mexico. That he would somehow get the Mexican government to pay for. We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. You know it's just Fantasy. [ NOISE ] I would work quickly to present to the Congress my plans for raising the minimum wage. Taxes too high, wages too high. Well, you know both Bill and I have been very blessed, neither of us came from wealthy families, and we've worked really hard our entire lives. I took one million dollars and I turned it into Okay, one million ten billion dollars. I've come up with a tax plan that many, many people like Now- Very. [ NOISE ] They may not care much about their lives, but they do care, believe it or not, about their family's lives. [ APPLAUSE ] A diplomacy is not about getting to the perfect solution- We need tough people, we need toughness. It's about how you balance the risk. I would bring back water boarding. And I'd bring back a helluva lot worse, than what we're boarding. We will not send American combats groups back to Syria or Iraq, that is off the table. We talk about Iran and that's one of the worst deals ever made I'm asking people to support me because I think I'm the most qualified, most experienced and ready person to be the President. If I'm elected to be President We will win and we will win and we will win. Thank you. 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