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Associated Press

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jnr has failed to qualify for next week’s debate in Atlanta, according to host network CNN, falling shy of benchmarks both for state ballot qualification and necessary polling.
The missed markers mean that the June 27 showdown will be solely between Democratic President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
That denies Kennedy a singular opportunity to stand alongside the leading candidates in an attempt to lend legitimacy to his long-shot bid and convince potential supporters that he has a shot at winning.
In a statement on Thursday, Kennedy called his exclusion from the debate “undemocratic, un-American and cowardly”.

Both the Biden and Trump campaigns fear that Kennedy could play spoiler in what is anticipated to be a close general election.
According to the criteria set out by CNN, candidates would be invited to take part in the debate if they had secured a place on the ballot in states totalling at least 270 votes in the Electoral College, the minimum needed to win the presidency.
Biden and Trump have easily cleared the polling threshold but will not be certified for the ballot until their parties formally nominate them later this summer. Both have secured enough delegates to lock in their nominations.
Kennedy’s campaign says he has satisfied the requirements to appear on the ballot in 22 states, with a combined 310 electoral votes, though not all have affirmed his name will be listed. California, the largest prize on the electoral map with 54 votes, will not certify any candidates until August 29.
Candidates were also required to reach a polling threshold of 15 per cent in four reliable national polls by June 20, another metric CNN said Kennedy failed to meet.
According to the network, Kennedy has received at least 15 per cent in three qualifying polls so far and is currently on the ballot in six states, making him currently eligible for 89 Electoral College votes.

Last month, Kennedy filed an election complaint alleging CNN is colluding with Biden and Trump to exclude him from the June 27 debate, alleging that the participation requirements were designed to ensure only Biden and Trump would qualify and claiming that he is being held to a higher standard.
CNN has said the complaint is without merit. Kennedy’s campaign did not immediately respond to a message on Thursday seeking comment on CNN’s announcement and asking if he planned to take any further action about his exclusion.
Biden and Trump last month agreed to the CNN debate and a second on September 10 hosted by ABC, bypassing the non-partisan commission that has organised debates for nearly four decades.
After winning a coin toss, Biden’s campaign chose the right podium position, meaning that he will be on the right side of viewers’ screens, with Trump on the left, according to CNN. Trump’s campaign then opted to deliver his closing statement after Biden.
Both campaigns have agreed to appear at podiums, and microphones will be muted except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak.
Meanwhile the Winklevoss brothers, the founders of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday that they have donated US$1 million in bitcoin to Trump and will be voting for him in November.
“Over the past few years, the Biden Administration has openly declared war against crypto. It has weaponised multiple government agencies to bully, harass and sue the good actors in our industry in an effort to destroy it,” Tyler Winklevoss said in his post.
Earlier in the month, Trump presented himself as a champion for cryptocurrency and slammed Democrats’ attempts to regulate the sector during a San Francisco fundraiser.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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The independent US presidential candidate called his exclusion from the June 27 debate ‘undemocratic, un-American and cowardly’


The independent US presidential candidate called his exclusion from the June 27 debate ‘undemocratic, un-American and cowardly’.
