As election season once again heats up in America, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to return to the debate stage — once in June on CNN and again in September on ABC. In doing so, the candidates have rebuked the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonpartisan organization that, in accordance with tradition, had already scheduled three presidential debates and a vice presidential debate. By colluding to circumvent the Commission’s decades-long control of the debates, the Trump and Biden campaigns have changed the terms of their face-off, most notably by rejecting third-party candidates and removing a live audience.
As the most popular third-party candidate in decades, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. deserves a place on that debate stage. Regardless of his chances to win it all in November, his identity as an alternative candidate makes him someone that Trump and Biden should face for the sake of the American people. By excluding him, the two candidates further embolden RFK Jr., whether he ends up qualifying for the debate or not.
If he made the cut, the debate would be far more interesting and representative of the sentiments of American voters. We’ve already lived through the trials and tribulations of Trump and Biden, and a second Trump-Biden contest is a rematch most Americans don’t want. Still, with such a competition looking all but inevitable, public interest in the election is at a 20-year low, and the threat of reduced voter turnout is high.
For Biden, one in four Democrats aren’t planning to vote for him come November. The same cannot be said for Donald Trump, who, despite a somewhat contested primary cycle, remains the de facto candidate for Republican voters. In a three-way race for the presidency, Trump is projected to narrowly eclipse Biden for victory, with RFK Jr. grabbing roughly 8% of the vote. Other polls show RFK Jr. performing even better; two of them have him meeting the 15% support threshold the Commission on Presidential Debates requires to include a candidate in its lineup. Given RFK Jr.’s recent polling success, including him in the debate would give Biden and Trump a public forum to challenge the candidate who threatens to spoil their victory come November.
RFK Jr. sits at a compelling ideological intersection between Biden and Trump, which explains the inconclusive assessments on which candidate’s victory he has a higher chance of spoiling. If he were allowed to compete, RFK Jr. might be able to recenter the debate on the ideological differences between the different candidates, as opposed to the prior debates between Trump and Biden that devolved into unproductive bickering matches. With both the president and former president having prioritized making the other candidate look as unappealing as possible, it is very likely the American people will experience a repeat of the 2020 presidential debates. If RFK Jr. is allowed to participate, however, his hopes of bringing greater attention to his platform and the shortcomings of Biden and Trump may motivate the other candidates to focus on policy as well, leading to a far more productive debate.
Beyond colluding to exclude RFK Jr., Trump and Biden’s other changes to the debate rules are undemocratic and undermine the spirit of the debate. By removing a live audience and muting mics when the other candidate is speaking, the geriatric candidates’ attempts to make the debates as uncomplicated as possible will likely do little to convince viewers of the candidates’ mental and physical fitness. Proving their aptitude relative to one another has been a major focus of both their campaigns, particularly for Biden, for whom a majority of his 2020 voters believe he is too old to be an effective president. The 70-year-old RFK Jr. is considered much healthier than his opponents, despite a dead parasitic worm found lodged in his brain in 2010. If RFK Jr. were included, it would give viewers a more nuanced opportunity to compare the candidates’ mental capacities.
Despite the many upsides to RFK Jr.’s inclusion at the presidential debates, his uphill battle for ballot access remains a significant hurdle. RFK Jr. is hovering around 10% in the national polling average, short of the 15% threshold. In addition, RFK Jr. has only secured ballot access in a handful of states, although he has ramped up his efforts to qualify for the debates in June. His campaign has already gained significant traction in spite of massive efforts from the Democratic Party to thwart third-party candidates, votes they believe would flip the election to Trump. These efforts are unsurprising, given that the political establishment has historically disempowered third-party candidates. Most significantly, independent candidates must jump through more hurdles than a party-affiliated candidate to qualify for a spot on the ballot. In 2024, securing ballot access in all 50 states as an independent candidate is even more difficult (and far more costly) than when Ross Perot did it in 1992.
In addition to placing significant, undemocratic hurdles for RFK Jr. to qualify for its debate (such as requiring him but not Biden or Trump to appear on a certain number of ballots by June 27), CNN’s rules have also placed the network’s integrity in jeopardy. The move to exclude RFK Jr. could potentially violate campaign finance laws. The hijacking of democratic values in favor of a debate that unfairly mitigates the electoral potential of RFK Jr. does a disservice to the American people, who deserve a debate that has fair eligibility criteria and features productive political discussion.
Maximilian Schenke is an Opinion Columnist who writes about whatever is on his mind, but typically focuses on politics. He loves receiving criticism or otherwise at maxsch@umich.edu.
The post RFK Jr. deserves a place in the presidential debates appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
Leave a Reply