RFK Jr. tries to jam his way onto debate stage with Biden and Trump

WASHINGTON (TND) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is trying to force his way onto the debate stage along with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump as he tries to build on his support in a race featuring two of the most unpopular presidents in American history.

Kennedy, who is still polling in double digits in national surveys, is trying to ramp up his longshot bid to be a serious contender along with the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees. As part of that push, he is trying to jam his way into a scheduled June 27 debate in Atlanta being hosted by CNN to add legitimacy and recognition to his side.

Kennedy’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday accusing CNN of colluding to exclude him from appearing on stage.

“CNN is making prohibited corporate contributions to both campaigns and the Biden committee and the Trump committee have accepted these prohibited corporate contributions,” Kennedy attorney Lorenzo Holloway wrote in a letter to the Federal Election Commission.

Trump and Biden agreed to debates without going through the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has organized them in the past and set the criteria for qualifying them. CNN used a similar set of criteria for appearing on stage that included eligibility to hold office as set in the Constitution, polling requirements and ballot access to enough states that could reach the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.

Kennedy does not meet the polling threshold and is also nowhere close to reaching the ballot access requirement. His campaign is working to get on ballots in more places but is unlikely to reach the threshold by the deadline to appear at CNN’s debate. The network has denied wrongdoing in setting the debate terms.

Both campaigns are concerned about Kennedy playing spoiler come November as voters are unenthused about each major party’s nominees and looking for other options. Kennedy has been able to attract the most support among all the independent and third-party candidates so far but there are questions about how long that momentum will last as more voters tune into the election and are exposed to each of the candidates.

Getting on CNN’s stage would be the biggest stage yet for Kennedy’s campaign and would give him a chance to contrast himself with Biden and Trump. But it also carries risks for a candidate who is known for taking fringe and sometimes conspiratorial positions.

“You just can't put a price on that kind of PR notoriety and being in front of tens of millions of voters for the first time in many cases, because a lot of people may not be very familiar with him other than his name recognition," said Aaron Kall, the director of debate at the University of Michigan. “But that's where things get dicey. It could allow him to make a good first impression to a much wider audience than he’s used to. But if people are not happy with his performance, and maybe kind of turned off by some of the fringe positions, that ultimately that won't be very helpful.”

A third-party candidate hasn’t appeared on a debate stage along with the Republican and Democratic nominees since the 1992 election that also saw Ross Perot get the highest vote total ever for an outside candidate, though he failed to win any Electoral College votes.

Adding Kennedy to the stage would also be a significant twist for Trump and Biden, both of which are trying to frame the election as a stark contrast for the nation’s future depending on who wins.

The debates, which are scheduled well ahead of the usual timeframes, are also important for Trump and Biden as they are locked into a tightly contested contest. There were questions as to whether debates would happen at all until the campaigns announced they had come to an agreement on a pair of debates.

Both campaigns see them as a chance to show the contrast between the two and make their case to the public about why they should get a second term in the Oval Office and are unlikely to be interested to give the spotlight to a candidate who will likely struggle to win significant support on Election Day.

"I don't think either campaign wants him there. There's too much chaos in the equation and both campaigns, for various reasons, want this to be two person binary choice or referendum on each other, and Kennedy kind of being involved would ruin that narrative," Kall said.

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