RFK Jr. misses deadline to join Biden-Trump debate next week
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is unlikely to participate in 2024's first U.S. presidential debate after missing a deadline to meet criteria set by hosting news organization CNN.
CNN, a division of Warner Bros Discovery and host of the June 27 debate, said only President Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump had met its conditions to take part ahead of a 12 a.m. ET (0400 GMT) Thursday deadline.
"Presidents Biden and Trump do not want me on the debate stage and CNN illegally agreed to their demand," Kennedy said in a statement. "My exclusion by Presidents Biden and Trump from the debate is undemocratic, un-American, and cowardly."
The conditions included appearing on enough state ballots to potentially win the presidency and also garnering at least 15% voter support in four separate national polls.
Kennedy had received at least 15% in only three accepted polls to date and, by CNN's tally, had qualified for the ballot in just six states. That would not be enough to win the presidency.
Kennedy had argued the TV network's standards were being applied unfairly and intended to keep him off the stage with candidates who would prefer a one-on-one race.
The Kennedy campaign asked that the Federal Election Commission take action by Thursday and keep CNN, Biden and Trump from holding the June 27 debate unless it makes changes. The FEC declined to comment.
"If the debate goes forward without Mr. Kennedy, the Kennedy campaign intends to pursue this issue for as long as it takes to obtain justice against these illegal acts," the campaign said in a statement on Thursday.
For the debate, Trump will get the final word, CNN reported on Thursday, after a coin flip to determine podium placement and the order of closing statements.
Biden's campaign chose to select the right podium position, which means the Democratic president will be on the right side of television viewers' screens and his Republican rival will be on viewers' left, CNN said.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Heather Timmons, Sandra Maler and Alistair Bell)
