Former President Donald Trump heaped faint praise Thursday on independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., mocking the Biden campaign’s demand for head-to-head debates later this year.
Trump and President Biden have tentatively agreed to two forums — one hosted by CNN on June 27, and another on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC News.
However, the Biden team laid out specific stipulations to ensure the president shows up — including that no third-party candidates be allowed.
“Crooked Joe Biden does not want RFK Jr. in the debates because Junior’ is far left [of] him 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. He’s also sharper and far more intelligent than Joe, all making for a bad combination of ingredients,” Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday.
In their announcements, both CNN and ABC News said that to qualify for the debate, candidates would have to poll at a minimum of 15% in select surveys and be on the ballot in enough states to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win on Nov. 5.
Kennedy, 70, has polled as high as 16% in CNN and Quinnipiac polls conducted last month. He is also aiming to make the ballot in all 50 states, and his team claims to currently have access to 187 electoral votes.
“I don’t care if Junios’ [sic] 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!’” added Trump, 77.
Earlier this month, the 45th president dismissed RFK Jr. as “not a serious candidate,” declining to respond to the independent’s proposal for a head-to-head debate at the Libertarian Party’s national convention on May 25.
After Biden and Trump agreed to the two debates on Wednesday, Kennedy sounded off on being left out of the scrum.
“Presidents Trump and Biden are colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want,” the son of the late attorney general and senator from New York said on X.
“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,” added Kennedy. “Forty-three percent of Americans identify as independents.”
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Post.