Former President Trump went after independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. when asked if he would debate him, saying he is “not a serious candidate” and his poll numbers are “low.” Ta.
On Thursday, the former president, who was in New York for a hush money trial, was asked if he would debate Kennedy.
“Can you discuss RFK Jr.?” a reporter asked the prospective Republican nominee Thursday.
President Trump said, “RFK, I don’t know anything about him.” “Look, RFK’s polls are very low and he’s not a serious candidate. They say he hurt Biden. I don’t know who he hurt, he might hurt me. , I don’t know. But his numbers are very low and not something you can argue with. He needs to get better.”
Mr. Trump has gone after Mr. Kennedy in a post on Truth Social last week, even though he said he knew little about the independent candidate.
RFK Jr. responded to Trump’s rants published on his platform, praising the former president as “the most accomplished debater in modern American political history” and calling for him to debate his legislative accomplishments on stage. .
“Instead of dropping poison bombs from the safety of his bunker, let’s listen to President Trump defend his record manoah mano to me with respectful and witty arguments,” Kennedy said. Ta.
Recent polls show that Trump has a slight advantage over President Biden if Kennedy joins the race. However, an NBC News poll showed that, including Kennedy as well as third-party candidates such as Cornel West and the Green Party’s Jill Stein, Biden had a 2-point lead over Trump. found. The same poll showed Trump in the lead in a head-to-head battle with Biden. Both results were within the margin of error.
In April, the Trump campaign asked the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) to move the debate “far ahead” of its originally scheduled September date. The CPD announced this week that the first debate, scheduled for September 16, will be “the earliest general election televised debate ever held”.
The Trump campaign was not satisfied with CPD’s response. Biden said in an interview with radio host Howard Stern that he was “happy” to discuss the former president.
The latest polling averages from The Hill and Decision Desk Headquarters show Mr. Trump leading by 0.6 percentage points, while Mr. Kennedy is a distant third with an approval rating of 8.5 percent.
The Hill has reached out to Kennedy’s campaign for comment.
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