Donald Trump mocked President Joe Biden for not wanting independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. to be included in the debates then argued that RFK Jr should not be included in the debates.
In a post on his Truth Social site, Trump claims that Biden does not want RFK Jr included in the debates because he has similar policies to Biden and is ‘sharper and more intelligent.’
“Crooked Joe Biden does not want RFK Jr. in the debates because Junior’ is far left him (sic) and they would be debating over the same territory, like ridiculous Open Borders and the Green New Scam, both of which are killing our Country,” Trump wrote. “He’s also sharper and far more intelligent than Joe, all making for a bad combination of ingredients.”
He continued: “I don’t care if Junios’ joins the Debate, but right now his polling numbers are very low, he is not properly qualified in the States, and he seems to be on a downward path. Junior’ needs more than his name to get on the “stage!”
Biden and Trump both agreed to two debates. The first will be hosted by CNN on June 27. It will be moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. The second will air Sept. 10 on ABC.
RFK Jr is accusing Biden and Trump of “colluding” to keep him off the debate stage.
“Presidents Trump and Biden are colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want. They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win. Keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy,” RFK Jr said in a post on X/Twitter Wednesday.
However, RFK Jr would not currently qualify for the CNN debate based on the network’s criteria to get on the stage.
To qualify for the debate a candidate must receive at least 15% in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters. RFK Jr has so far met that threshold in two polls. The network also said that participants must “appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidency prior to the eligibility deadline.”
RFK Jr and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, are now on the ballot in four states, according to Politico. They have finished signature gathering in nine others and are circulating petitions for 29 others.
RFK Jr’s campaign manager Amaryllis Fox said they “anticipate fulfilling all participation criteria by June 20th and look forward to offering American voters the three-way debate they deserve.”
