These upcoming presidential debates keep getting more interesting by the minute.
Not only did Joe Biden finally throw down the gauntlet for a debate Donald Trump had long wanted, but now, it seems there might be another challenger eligible to debate.
While Biden and his handlers have carefully ensured that the structure of the debates will overwhelmingly favor the president’s senility — hosted by a friendly liberal news network, no audience, automatic shutoffs of microphones if one person goes beyond their allotted time — a report from CNN claimed that these stipulations won’t automatically disqualify a third party candidate.
Since CNN will be hosting the first debate on June 27, they have the prerogative to determine the criteria by which candidates can qualify for the debates.
First, all candidates must be eligible for the presidency per Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution — Biden and Trump obviously qualify, but so do third party candidates Cornel West, Jill Stein, and, most significantly, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Second, all candidates must file a formal statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, which all have done.
The third one would be a little trickier: Candidates must be on the ballot in enough states to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold needed to win the presidency.
The only third party candidate anywhere near that threshold (though still not exactly close) would be Kennedy.
Granted, as of now, it’s not all that likely — he’s on the ballot in five states and says he has enough signatures to qualify for six more, but there isn’t any guarantee of that happening.
Will Trump win the debate on June 27?
Kennedy himself seemed to believe that Trump and Biden were deliberately excluding him, taking to the social media platform X to complain: “They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win.”
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.…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 15, 2024
Politico likewise noted that, Kennedy still may not qualify for the debate in time as most states choose late summer to certify eligible candidates.
Still, Kennedy has not been that far off of the polling threshold CNN set at 15 percent approval in four different polls, reaching, Forbes noted, 14 percent in a recent Marist College Poll, 10 percent in a New York Times poll, and even 16 percent in a recent CNN poll and April Quinnipiac University poll.
Will that be enough for him to qualify for the debate?
Probably not — and, seeing how Biden’s team desperately want him contending against no more than one candidate, they might undertake further maneuvers to keep him off the debate stage.
Still, if the word got around he was on the cusp of qualifying, that could give him the boost he would need in the polls.
Would Trump or Biden benefit if Kennedy qualifies for the debate?
As of right now, it would still be hard to say.
It would add a major element of unpredictability, of which there are already plenty in this most unusual of presidential races.
At least it will be entertaining, if it’s nothing else.
