President Donald Trump (R) and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (I) are engaged in a war of words as the general election inches closer. President Trump has challenged President Joe Biden (D) to a debate, and the incumbent has accepted with no date scheduled. RFK, Jr. is now asserting his place in the presidential race, challenging President Trump to a debate "mano-a-mano."
A recent NBC News Poll found that RFK, Jr.'s candidacy hurts President Trump's campaign more than President Biden's campaign. Despite this, President Trump leads President Biden with 2 percentage points.
Over the weekend, President Trump referenced this "hit" from RFK Jr.'s candidacy, warning, "don't waste your vote on Kennedy!"
Aside from directing attacks at President Biden, President Trump has criticized RFK Jr. as an "extremist." On Truth Social, the Republican challenger questioned "why did Junior's family go so bonkers at the thought of him running against Crooked Joe Biden? Because they are Radical Left Lunatics, and they can't conceive of their even more Liberal brother running as anything else?"
The Independent challenger has responded to President Trump's attacks, calling him "unhinged" and charging President Trump to channel his energy into accepting a debate.
On X, RFK Jr. shared that "when frightened men take to social media they risk descending into vitriol, which makes them sound unhinged. President Trump's rant against me is a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims that should best be resolved in the American tradition of presidential debate."
When frightened men take to social media they risk descending into vitriol, which makes them sound unhinged. President Trump's rant against me is a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims that should best be resolved in the American tradition of presidential debate.…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) April 27, 2024
"President Trump, who has proven himself the most adept debater in modern American political history, should not be panicked to meet me on that stage."
If both were to debate in front of the American people, RFK Jr. says that his goal would be to expose President Trump as a president who didn't uphold his promises to the American people.
"I will show how President Trump betrayed the hopes of his most sincere followers. He promised to end the Ukraine war and then colluded with Speaker Johnson and President Biden to fund it. He let Big Pharma and his corrupt bureaucrats run roughshod over him as President. He promised to cut the deficit and ran up the biggest debt in history. He promised to run the government like a business and then closed down our businesses. He promised to drain the swamp and then filled his administration with swamp creatures. He promised to protect our rights and then torpedoed the Constitution."
"Instead of lobbing poisonous bombs from the safety of his bunker, let’s hear President Trump defend his record to me mano-a-mano by respectful, congenial debate."
