Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly challenged President Joe Biden to prove his mental and physical ability to govern in a debate.
“President Biden could put to rest any concerns about his fitness for office by engaging me in a vigorous, issues-oriented debate. Let’s end the speculation and let the voters see for themselves,” President John F. Kennedy’s nephew wrote Friday on X (formerly Twitter).
He added: “Quote tweet #BidenDebateKennedy if you agree.”
President Biden could put to rest any concerns about his fitness for office by engaging me in a vigorous, issues-oriented debate. Let’s end the speculation and let the voters see for themselves. #Kennedy24
Quote tweet #BidenDebateKennedy if you agree https://t.co/WOFEcDlswa
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 1, 2023
Kennedy Jr.’s public request comes at a time when President Biden’s stamina is questioned by Republicans and also a certain sector of the press.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre actually had to deflect and answer questions about Biden’s ability to hold office recently.
Although most of the criticism and doubts about Biden’s mental and physical abilities come from Republicans, there are also other Democrats, besides Kennedy Jr., who are asking the Democratic president to join a debate to clear all doubts about his candidacy.
This is the case of former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who asked Biden to debate with JFK’s nephew, although for political issues.
“If you don’t debate RFK Jr., then he has a stronger case to say, look, I didn’t get a fair shake so I’m going to run in the general,” Yang said, hinting that debating would be a political triumph for Biden.
“The problem is that the DNC and Joe do not want Joe debating RFK Jr. or anyone else, and it’s a real problem,” Yang added. “I’ve come out and said, I think that people should be running in a more competitive environment against Joe, even though he is the sitting president, because I think that that would be a positive thing.”
