• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, September 13, 2016

Ratings for “Sunday Night Football” are falling, and new TV shows will probably head in the same direction. Count on Presidential debates to offer up some surprises -- and good ratings.

Donald Trump has a few ideas to liven things up.

Issues over format have arisen for previous debates. But now Trump wants to move to new ground: no “moderators.”  

That’s right, the Republican Presidential candidate doesn’t want anyone to ask any questions of him.

Presidential debates have long had moderators. Some might still view them -- including this year’s Lester Holt of NBC, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, and Fox News’ Chris Wallace -- as journalists. They might ask tough and interesting — but maybe not entertaining? — questions.

Trump thinks the moderator-led debates are just so old-school. He’d rather Hillary Clinton and he just sit on stage talking/debating to each other. Yes, that would be interesting -- but probably not of much value. Certainly not as a TV show.

Why bring this up now? Trump is concerned his most recent exchange with Matt Lauer during NBC News’ “Commander in Chief” forum, didn’t go too well -- and there could be more to come. Trump said he was treated “very unfair” by Lauer -- this despite many critics almost universally panning Laura’s performance when it came to both Trump and Clinton.

Additionally, Trump points to his now usual knee-jerk scream: “The system is rigged!” Trump, of course, believes much is rigged: elections, politicians, possible business executives -- and perhaps even TV shows!

So in this regard, a moderator-less debate format would be perfect -- as a happy-go-lucky bit of entertainment. But for these reality TV performances, one still needs someone to evaluate the responses at the end.

Simon Cowell would be the perfect candidate for the job. Here’s a scenario:

Trump: “So how’s your pneumonia coming along? Email anyone about your medical vitals?"  (Cowell: “Nice. Good delivery”).

Clinton: “Speaking of vitals, what’s the health of your tax returns? And that audit. Is it a good prescription that gets rid of the pain? (Cowell: “Good comeback. One point each.”).

If Trump sees a downside to the debate, maybe he should just not participate. After all, less informed voters -- like TV viewers --- need to be teased. Keep the mystery going, until the next big TV show appearance comes along.