CNN and ABC to Host Biden-Trump Debates; Independent Candidate Kennedy Condemns Exclusion

CNN announced Wednesday it will host a presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on June 27, 2024. The debate, which will be broadcast live from CNN’s Atlanta studios, comes after Biden challenged Trump to the debate and Trump accepted.

The debate will air at 9 p.m. EDT on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Max, and CNN.com. No audience will be present to allow candidates to maximize their time on stage. Moderators and additional details will be announced at a later date.

Candidates must meet several criteria to participate, including filing a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission and appearing on enough state ballots to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. They must also agree to the debate rules and receive at least 15% support in four national polls of registered or likely voters that meet CNN’s reporting standards.

Qualifying polls include those conducted by CNN, ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, Marquette University Law School, Monmouth University, NBC News, The New York Times/Siena College, NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist College, Quinnipiac University, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. The polling window for eligibility opened March 13, 2024, and closes seven days before the debate.

The debate in the battleground state of Georgia is expected to be a critical moment in the 2024 presidential election campaign, providing a direct comparison of Biden and Trump’s visions for the future of the United States.

Biden also announced that he has accepted a second debate with Trump hosted by ABC on Sept. 10, 2024. Both debates exclude Robert Kennedy Jr. (@RobertKennedyJr) and are hosted by left-leaning networks, CNN and ABC.

In accepting to participate in the CNN debate, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “It is my great honor to accept the CNN Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST PRESIDENT in the History of the United States and a true Threat to Democracy, on June 27th. Likewise, I accept the ABC News Debate against Crooked Joe on September 10th. Thank you, DJT!”

Biden wrote, "I've also received and accepted an invitation to a debate hosted by ABC on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Trump says he’ll arrange his own transportation. I’ll bring my plane, too. I plan on keeping it for another four years."

Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., who has been excluded from the debates, condemned the decision in a statement. He wrote, “Presidents Trump and Biden are colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want.

“They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win. Keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy.

“Forty-three percent of Americans identify as independents. If Americans are ever going to escape the hammerlock of the two-party system, now is the time to do it. These are the two most unpopular candidates in living memory.

“By excluding me from the stage, Presidents Biden and Trump seek to avoid discussion of their eight years of mutual failure including deficits, wars, lockdowns, chronic disease, and inflation.”