RFK Jr. fails to qualify for CNN debate, setting up showdown between Biden and Trump

Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to qualify for the first presidential debate, hosted by CNN next week, officially setting up a one-on-one clash between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

CNN published an article Thursday morning that said the network’s window for candidates to meet the criteria for the June 27 debate in Atlanta closed just after midnight Eastern time, “with Biden and Trump meeting the constitutional, ballot qualification and polling thresholds.” A CNN spokesperson confirmed that Kennedy did not qualify.

Kennedy hadn’t hit CNN’s polling threshold of 15% in at least four approved national polls, having only reached that mark in three surveys ahead of the deadline. He also fell short of the network’s ballot criteria, which required candidates to secure access in enough states to win 270 electoral votes, a significant task for a third party at this point in the election cycle.

According to an NBC News analysis, Kennedy is currently on the ballot in 10 states, but is held up in verification status or application windows in a handful of others. 

Kennedy’s absence from the stage next week will be a blow to his long-shot campaign as he seeks to gain ground on the presumptive major party nominees. 

“My exclusion by Presidents Biden and Trump from the debate is undemocratic, un-American, and cowardly,” Kennedy said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “Americans want an independent leader who will break apart the two-party duopoly. They want a President who will heal the divide, restore the middle class, unwind the war machine, and end the chronic disease epidemic.”

Last month, Kennedy’s campaign filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against CNN and the Biden and Trump campaigns, alleging the way they set up the June 27 presidential debate was illegal. Stefanie Spear, press secretary for the campaign, said it is “considering” further legal action ahead of debate night.

“President Trump said repeatedly he had no problem debating RFK Jr. and he believes any candidate who qualifies for the ballot should be allowed to make their case to America’s voters,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Thursday. “It’s Joe Biden and the Democrats who are using financial and legal resources to prevent RFK’s access to the ballot because they know RFK Jr. is a radical leftist who pulls more votes from Biden than President Trump.”

Kennedy has already used the prospect of his omission from the stage to argue the election is rigged against political outsiders, with his campaign booking $100,000 in TV ads on the day of the debate.

Kennedy still has a chance to qualify for the Sept. 10 debate, hosted by ABC News. That debate has the same ballot access and polling criteria as CNN’s, although it’s unclear when the polling window will open. That will also provide Kennedy with additional time to secure access on more ballots across the country.