Presidential candidate Donald Trump is packing them in, and a lot of people in the news business want a piece of the action.

Not so fast, says Trump.

The billionaire Art of the Deal author is in a perfect bargaining position to help out American veterans, and he's making the most of it.  Trump was a big draw and ratings booster during the first Republican debate on Fox.  The Donald pulled in 24 million viewers with an unbelievable 6.7 million from the 18-49  demographic.

Now it's CNN's turn to get their fair share.  The cable news station has hiked up  regular, prime-time 30-second spots from $5,000 to $200,000 for the airing of the next presidential debate on September 16.

In a letter to CNN President Jeff Zucker, Trump made it clear he knows that the increased advertising and viewership is "due 100% to  Donald J. Trump."  The real estate mogul then suggested that Zucker pony up for "veterans of our country, our finest people, [who] have been treated horribly by the government and it's 'all talk and no action' politicians." 

From the letter:

I am self-funding my campaign — I do not want money from lobbyists, donors or special interest groups...Likewise, you should view the second debate broadcast as a public service and not accept the massive profits that this airing will generate. I believe all profits from this broadcast should go to various VETERANS groups, a list of which I will send to you in the near future.

The Trump surge has even his enemies in the media clamoring for an interview.  Glenn Beck has spent months skewering the candidate, but that didn't stop Beck from telling Bill O'Reilly on Tuesday:

I would like to hear an in-depth conversation with Donald Trump on the Constitution. He won’t come on my show at this point. I would like to talk to him tomorrow and convince him it would be a good thing to come on my show. 

Glenn Beck was a featured speaker, along with Trump, at Ted Cruz's anti-Iran rally in D.C. on Wednesday.

Senator Cruz is another one who’s benefiting from Trumpmania.  Cruz unabashedly admitted he invited Trump to the rally because “[Trump] brings an army of TV reporters[.] ... He brings an army of cameras that show up. And Donald's being there – he very graciously accepted – means the mainstream media will cover the event."

Trump equals increased viewership for cable news execs.  If Zucker  agrees to fork over the profits to our veterans following the debate, all those disillusioned conservatives not watching Fox News could end up turning to CNN.