Trump asks CNN to donate ad revenue to veterans

Billionaire mogul and White House frontrunner Donald Trump publicly called on CNN Wednesday to donate revenue from ad sales during the upcoming Republican debate to veterans, AFP reports.

He made the request in an open letter to CNN president Jeff Zucker, claiming personal credit for the record 24 million people who tuned into last month's debate on rival network Fox.

"While I refuse to brag, and as you know very well, this tremendous increase in viewer interest and advertising is due 100 percent to 'Donald J. Trump'," he wrote.

Trump said he heard ad rates were up more than 4,000 percent for slots during the September 16 Republican debate, to be broadcast by CNN from the Reagan Foundation in California.

Trump said Zucker should consider the broadcast "a public service" and not accept "massive profits."

"I believe that all profits from this broadcast should go to various VETERANS groups, a list of which I will send to you in the near future," Trump wrote.

The New York tycoon has made campaigning for better treatment of veterans and promising to deport illegal immigrants cornerstones of his publicity-grabbing campaign.

Trump told Zucker that veterans had been "treated horribly" by the government and "even worse" than illegal immigrants.

"It is about time that someone came to their aid. Let's start now!," he wrote. "This large contribution of many millions of dollars would be a truly wonderful thing for CNN to do."

Trump's blunt style, business acumen and charisma make him a rock star in the eyes of ordinary Republican voters and he has led Republican polls for months.

He lauds his financial independence as a unique selling point for the electorate but is yet to flesh out detailed policies.

According to the US Census Bureau, there are 21.8 million veterans in the United States with the largest concentrations in California, Florida and Texas.