(USNewsBreak.com) – The presidential election is just under six months away, and both major parties are gearing up for a heated debate season. President Joe Biden recently accepted an invite from CNN to go head-to-head with the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump. He tossed the ball in Trump’s court, who readily accepted the challenge. However, Biden’s invitation came with a list of conditions, including no third-party candidates. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) has something to say about that.
Trump and Biden have scheduled two debates. The first, hosted by CNN, will occur on June 27. The second will happen on September 10, moderated by ABC.
After hearing of the upcoming debates, RFK Jr. accused the two parties in a post on X, formerly Twitter, of “colluding” to “exclude [him] from their debate because they are afraid [he] would win.” He then said that the move “undermines democracy.” He cited polling statistics, claiming the majority of Americans don’t want either of the candidates. RFK Jr. ended his message by saying they are looking “to avoid discussion of their eight years of mutual failure” by excluding him.
RFK Jr. currently doesn’t appear on enough ballots to qualify to appear on the debate stage. CNN mandated that candidates must be on enough ballots to win a majority of the Electoral College votes, 270, to win an election. It’s no small feat.
Right now, Kennedy is on a few ballots, with his campaign saying he has enough funding to secure access in all 50 states, but CNN would require him to hit the milestone by June 30. The network’s event takes place three days prior. Additionally, most states don’t certify qualifying independent candidates until July or August. A few states wait as late as September to certify independents for ballots.
Trump said on May 16 that he would have no issue facing RFK Jr. on the debate stage if he could qualify to participate.
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