Former President Trump said he would have “no problem” with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joining the presidential debate stage with President Biden if the independent candidate meets the threshold to participate.
“I wouldn’t have any problem if he got whatever the limit was,” Trump said in an interview Thursday with Scripps News.
“But it’s too low and it seems to be going in the other direction, the wrong direction,” Trump continued.
Trump and President Biden announced Wednesday that they have agreed to participate in two head-to-head presidential debates, one hosted by CNN on June 27 and the other by ABC on September 10.
CNN announced that, to participate, candidates must meet a set of requirements, including having their names appear on enough ballots to theoretically reach the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidency. Candidates must also receive at least 15% support in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters who meet standards specified by CNN.
Voting eligibility began on March 13 and ends seven days before the debate date.
On Thursday, Trump accused President Biden of not wanting Kennedy to participate in the debate, noting that they share some political views.
“I don’t care if Júnior enters the Debate, but at the moment his poll numbers are very low, he is not properly qualified in the United States and he seems to be on a downward trajectory. Junior’ needs more than his name to take the ‘stage’!” said Thursday on Truth Social.
Kennedy says his campaign has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in 14 states, most recently announcing that it has reached the number of signatures to qualify for the ballot in Texas.
Kennedy protested the decision to keep him out of the debate this week, saying Wednesday on the social platform to want.”
“They are trying to exclude me from the debate because they are afraid I will win. Keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy,” he wrote.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
