Coveting a person is not abuse.
Also, if this really is something the media's been sitting on, Friday evening EST is a weird ass time to drop it.
On the weekend of a debate, Friday evening is the perfect time to drop it. That basically ensures there is minimal time for response/damage control between now and Sunday night. If it'd been dropped on Tuesday afternoon or whatever, then there'd have been several days where the public would be hearing about it at full blast and therefore be more desensitized to it.
Additionally, dropping it now ensures that it stays at the forefront of the news this weekend; since most political news is strategically dropped during the week, there won't be much competing for attention this weekend.
Fair, I suppose. Though a Sunday night debate is also a sh**t idea, and I'm surprised Trump agreed to one, TBH. I suppose it will definitely get propelled through thenext week's news cycle.