Carly Fiorina said on Friday that complaints from two of her opponents for the Republican presidential nomination about debate rules barring opening and closing statements say "something about their endurance" and their grasp of the political issues.
Ben Carson and Donald Trump had threatened to boycott the Oct. 28 CNBC debate if the network didn't agree to limit the program to two hours and guarantee that the contenders will be given opening and closing statements.
"Maybe it says something about their endurance and their comfort or discomfort with having a real debate about the issues," Fiorina said to Iowa radio host Simon Conway on Friday.
On Friday afternoon, after Fiorina's appearance on the radio show, CNBC met Trump's and Carson's demands.
In the interview, Fiorina took aim at both conditions set by her rivals, saying that "when you have ten people on the stage, while three hours is a long time, it's actually not that much time," and likened Trump and Carson -- the two candidates in the GOP race besides Fiorina to have never held political office -- to politicians.
"I think opening and closing statements honestly are what politicians always want," she said. "They're sort of canned, prepared statements. They certainly don't tell us anything new, they don't tell us about a candidate's thoughts on issues or whether they can think on their feet."
When Conway, the host, cited the lack of "real questions" in the previous Republican debate, aired on CNN, Fiorina said "I'm not sure that I agree with that," before adding that she viewed debates as "an opportunity for people to get to know each one of us and compare and contrast one with the other."