On Thursday evening, while Donald Trump and Joe Biden were facing off in a major debate, Robert Kennedy Jr. found himself hosting a separate event. Despite this, a significant number of independent voters felt he deserved a spot among the leading candidates on the debate stage.
Kennedy Jr. didn’t qualify for participation, as he didn’t reach CNN’s required 15 percent polling threshold nor the necessary state ballot access. These criteria kept him from joining the high-profile event.
Nevertheless, according to a J.L. Partners survey that included 805 independent voters who tuned into the debate, 55 percent believed that Kennedy should have been included.
Only 22 percent of those surveyed opposed his presence on the stage.
This poll outcome might boost Kennedy’s campaign, as he positions himself as an alternative to the primary candidates, despite his controversial stance as an environmental lawyer with anti-vaccine views.
J.L. Partners asked 805 independent voters who watched the debate for their views.
However, missing out on the debate is a significant setback for Kennedy, as he relies heavily on cost-effective opportunities to connect with a broad audience of voters.
His campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing CNN and the two main candidates of breaking election law.
His supporters will see an irony in Kennedy being excluded.
Biden struggled badly in Thursday’s debate, triggering a frantic bout of soul searching among Democrats wondering if he was still their best hope of stopping Trump returning to power.
‘While traditionally third party candidates are squeezed as polling day approaches, the level of dissatisfaction with the two main candidates gives Robert F. Kennedy Jr. room to make a sizeable impact,’ said Joe Alder, senior research associate at J.L. Partners.
‘As a measure of that desire for an alternative, 55 percent of independents who watched the debate said RFK should have been there to take part – with just 22 percent disagreeing.’
In the immediate aftermath, Kennedy, 70, said the debate would have left most Americans ‘depressed.’
Poll after poll from the beginning, from last summer … shows that I’m the only one who can beat President Trump,’ he told News Nation.
‘Head to head with President Trump, I beat him and head to head with President Biden, I beat him in a landslide.’
Robert Kennedy Jr. answered debate questions in real time at his own event in West Hollywood, California, on Thursday night after being excluded from the Atlanta stage
The two main candidates are the oldest in history. Trump is only three years younger than Biden, and neither has good favorability ratings
Kennedy tried to keep himself relevant by responding in real time on Thursday to the same questions that were posed to Biden and Trump.
The CNN debate was shown on a giant screen behind Kennedy’s lectern on a stage in Los Angeles.
Biden and Trump were paused as Kennedy rattled off answers on inflation, the COVID-19 response and abortion.
‘This is something that’s important for our democracy because Americans feel like the system is rigged,’ he said in his opening remarks.
‘This is exactly the kind of merger of state and corporate power that I’m running to oppose.’
The poll revealed a devastating verdict for Biden, whose performance was marked by a hoarse voice, meandering answers, non sequiturs and silences as he looked all of his 81 years.
President Joe Biden had a torrid time on stage, prompting panic among Democrats who are wondering whether he should still be the party nominee in November
Some 62 percent of respondents said he should be dumped from the Democratic ticket.
Trump, 78, was able to land his punches while his Democratic opponent struggled to push back on some of his more outlandish claims.
‘I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,’ he said after Biden delivered a word salad about the border.
‘I don’t think he knows what he said either.’
It shifted the focus away from convicted felon Trump, who had to be asked three times whether he would accept the results of the 2024 election, to Biden.
A string of high profile liberals said it was time for him to step aside.
‘Guys, the Dems should nominate someone else — before it’s too late,’ Andrew Yang, who ran against Biden for the 2020 Democratic nomination.
