--- 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: August 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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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. 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. ## 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.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4507497/trump-campaign-manager-he-didnt-lie-about-lester-holt-because-he-didnt-know-the-facts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4507497/trump-campaign-manager-he-didnt-lie-about-lester-holt-because-he-didnt-know-the-facts/"},"headline":"Trump Campaign Manager: He Didn't Lie About Lester Holt Because He Didn't Know the Facts","datePublished":"2016-09-26T13:42:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:42:05.589Z","description":"When Donald Trump called the debate moderator a Democrat. 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