Former President Donald Trump said on Thursday that independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is “not a serious candidate,” and he would have to get his poll numbers up “before he’s credible.”
After leaving the Manhattan courtroom where he is being tried for alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, Trump was asked by a reporter if he would debate Kennedy.
“RFK? I don’t know anything about him,” Trump replied. “Look, RFK is polling very low. He’s not a serious candidate. They say he hurts Biden. I don’t know who he hurts; he might hurt me, I don’t know.”
“He has very low numbers,” Trump added. “Certainly not numbers he can debate with, and he’s gotta get his numbers up a lot higher before he’s credible. But the numbers he’s taking away, they say will be against Biden, but I don’t know; I’m not so sure. It could be a little bit against me, but I don’t see him as a factor.”
In a five-way race with Trump, President Joe Biden, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and independent candidate Cornel West, Kennedy polls at 10% nationally, according to the RealClearPolitics average. Trump and Biden, meanwhile, are locked in a tight race at 41% and 39%, respectively.
While Kennedy remains far behind Trump and Biden in the polls, the independent candidate has gained ballot access in critical battleground states in recent weeks. According to the Kennedy campaign, the candidate has qualified to appear on the ballots in Michigan, Nevada, and North Carolina, all states considered to be battleground races this November, according to RCP.
