Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly challenged Donald Trump to a debate at the forthcoming Libertarian Party convention. Both Kennedy and Trump are slated to address the convention, which is set to take place later this month.
The Libertarian Party extended an invitation to all presidential candidates to discuss matters pertaining to freedom and limited government at their convention. However, Joe Biden declined the invitation.
Kennedy initiated his challenge to Trump via a post on the X platform. He commenced by referencing polling data between the two candidates and taunting Trump with allegations of failure on several fronts, including the COVID crisis.
Kennedy expressed his gratitude to Trump for highlighting the biased polling methodologies employed by media outlets influenced by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He stated, "We have this concern too, and Im happy to show you the deceptive methodologies used by DNC-allied pollsters who pretend that Im in single digits. You have correctly characterized these as 'fake polls.'"
Kennedy further revealed that they conducted their own poll with Zogby, which he described as the largest and most accurate poll of this election cycle. The poll asked about head-to-head matchups between Trump and President Biden, Kennedy and President Biden, and Kennedy and Trump. The results showed that both Trump and Kennedy would defeat President Biden, with Kennedy winning by a larger margin. In a matchup between Kennedy and Trump, Kennedy claimed a narrow victory. In a three-way race, Trump was ahead, but Kennedy was gaining ground.
Kennedy also cited two new polls from CNN and Quinnipiac that placed him above the 15% debate threshold. Another poll from Activote showed him with 26% support among young voters. He stated that he and Trump were tied among America's 70 million Independents and that he was attracting many of Trump's former supporters.
Kennedy then extended his debate challenge to Trump, stating, "Were both going to be speaking at the upcoming Libertarian convention on May 24 and 25. Its perfect neutral territory for you and me to have a debate where you can defend your record for your wavering supporters."
He reminded Trump that he had previously stated he would not be afraid to debate Kennedy as long as his poll numbers were decent. Kennedy asserted that his poll numbers were indeed decent, and that he was the only presidential candidate in history who had polled ahead of both major party candidates in head-to-head races.
Kennedy concluded his challenge by proposing they meet at the Libertarian convention to demonstrate to the American public that at least two of the major candidates were not afraid to debate each other. He added that the convention organizers were agreeable to them using their time at the convention for a debate.
Trump has not yet responded to Kennedy's challenge, and it remains uncertain whether he views a debate with Kennedy as a wise use of his time or a strategic campaign move.
Last month, Trump referred to Kennedy as a "radical left lunatic" who is "far more liberal than anyone running as a Democrat," including Green Party candidate Jill Stein and far-left independent candidate Cornel West.
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