RFK Jr. claims he will ‘meet the criteria’ to take the stage in June presidential debate with Trump, Biden

Kennedy claimed that he will meet the criteria for the debate, scheduled for June 27 in Atlanta, and called on those involved to let him take part. The Biden campaign only agreed to present their candidate if RFK Jr. did not appear at the debate.

"I’m happy to report that I will meet the criteria to participate in the CNN debate before the June 20 deadline," Kennedy announced in a post on X. "I look forward to holding Presidents Biden and Trump accountable for their records in Atlanta on June 27 to give Americans the debate they deserve."

Upon hearing that the president and his predecessor had agreed to a debate, Kennedy accused the pair of "colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want" by preventing him from taking the stage next to them.

"They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win," he added, suggesting that, "keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy."

"If Americans are ever going to escape the hammerlock of the two-party system, now is the time to do it," Kennedy stated, noting that 43 percent of Americans identify as independent.

Early Wednesday morning, Biden posted a video asking Trump to pick a date for them to debate after the former president told his successor "any time any place." Trump has been pushing Biden to debate for months.

Trump was quick to respond, and June 27 was chosen. The debate, which is set to be moderated by CNN's Jake Tapper, will have no studio audience per request of the Biden campaign.