--- title: What Third-Party Candidates Are Doing During Debate description: While only Biden and Trump qualified for the CNN debate, the other four candidates vying for the presidential office have their own plans. canonical: https://time.com/6993283/rfk-jr-jill-stein-presidential-debate/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-06-27T23:17:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:50:25.100Z article:section: Politics og:title: What Third-Party Candidates Are Doing During CNN Debate og:description: The other four candidates have their own plans for debate night. og:url: https://time.com/6993283/rfk-jr-jill-stein-presidential-debate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ff2694326e0210d/698a584a09208f0cde41d53b/rfk-jr-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2398 og:image:height: 1349 og:image:alt: rfk-jr-debate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Third-Party Candidates Are Doing During CNN Debate twitter:description: The other four candidates have their own plans for debate night. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ff2694326e0210d/698a584a09208f0cde41d53b/rfk-jr-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What RFK, Jill Stein and Other Third-Party Candidates Are Doing During CNN’s Presidential Debate > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: These Are the Biggest Moments From the First 2024 Presidential Debate [Watch (HLS stream): These Are the Biggest Moments From the First 2024 Presidential Debate](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aYKZlt9t.m3u8) (2:59)  _Published 2024-06-28. Awkward exchanges, personal jabs, and falsehoods dominated the CNN Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump._ by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Jun 27, 2024 11:17 PM UTC  A screen-grab shows Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he participates in his own debate, called “The Real Debate”, that streamed alongside the CNN debate. A screen-grab shows Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he participates in his own debate, called “The Real Debate”, that streamed alongside the CNN debate. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Jun 27, 2024 11:17 PM UTC [President Joe Biden](https://time.com/6984970/joe-biden-2024-interview/) and former [President Donald Trump](https://time.com/6972021/donald-trump-2024-election-interview/) are slated to duke it out at the CNN [debate](https://time.com/6991454/presidential-debates-your-questions-answered/) on Thursday night, but there are still [four other candidates](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/us/politics/presidential-candidates-2024.html) vying for the presidential office in 2024\. Despite the two front-runners being the only candidates to qualify for the televised face-off, these other candidates have plans of their own for debate night. Here’s what they intend to do. **Robert F. Kennedy Jr.** The independent presidential candidate [didn’t meet the threshold](https://time.com/6990259/rfk-jr-fails-to-qualify-cnn-presidential-debate/) for both state ballot qualification and necessary polling that were required to be eligible to participate in the debate in Atlanta. On Tuesday, he [announced](https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1805700431727018018) that he will participate in his own debate, called “[The Real Debate](https://www.kennedy24.com/kennedy%5Fgive%5Famericans%5Fdebate%5Fthey%5Fdeserve)” that will stream live on X and [TheRealDebate.com](https://therealdebate.com/) at the same time as the CNN debate—9 p.m. ET. Kennedy plans to answer the same debate questions that Biden and Trump will be asked during the CNN debate and is the only candidate to be holding a debate at the same time as the CNN event. Former FOX host John Stossel, now host and creator of Stossel TV and a [self-proclaimed Libertarian](https://www.johnstossel.com/about/), will moderate Kennedy’s debate. “I’m going to be on that debate stage with or without their permission,” Kennedy said in his video announcement. Kennedy will also be on [NewsNation](https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/debates/kennedy-joins-newsnations-debate-coverage/) directly after his debate “to answer questions and respond to the Biden-Trump debate.” NewsNation said it also plans to livestream Kennedy’s debate responses online. According to the [NPR/PBS News/Marist College](https://maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/the-2024-presidential-election-june-2024/) poll released June 18, Kennedy receives the support of 11% of registered voters nationally in a multi-candidate field. **Read More:** [_These Are the Rules of the CNN Presidential Debate_](https://time.com/6989767/presidential-debate-rules-cnn-2024/) **Jill Stein** The Green Party presidential candidate will be [live-tweeting](https://x.com/DrJillStein/status/1806088120414392822) the Biden-Trump debate once it starts. At 10:30 p.m. ET—or whenever the CNN debate ends—Stein will stream a live response to the debate on her Facebook, X, and YouTube accounts. “CNN and the Biden and Trump campaigns locked Jill out of this sham ‘debate,’ but they can’t silence her voice for people, planet, and peace,” Stein’s campaign said in a [press release](https://www.jillstein2024.com/debateresponse). According to the [NPR/PBS News/Marist College](https://maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/the-2024-presidential-election-june-2024/) poll, Stein receives the support of 1% of registered voters nationally in a multi-candidate field. **Cornel West** The independent presidential candidate will join [theGrio](https://thegrio.com/2024/06/27/watch-the-cnn-presidential-debate-with-thegrio-our-pre-debate-and-post-debate-specials-will-break-down-all-the-political-drama/) for a post-debate analysis, part of its [“Black America Must Vote”](https://x.com/theGrio/status/1805734428166992141) specials, at 10:30 p.m. ET. According to the [NPR/PBS News/Marist College](https://maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/the-2024-presidential-election-june-2024/) poll, West receives the support of 3% of registered voters nationally in a multi-candidate field. **Chase Oliver** The Libertarian presidential candidate will also be [live-tweeting](https://x.com/ChaseForLiberty/status/1806411877775298738) the Biden-Trump debate once it starts, and then plans to do media interviews after the debate ends. According to the [NPR/PBS News/Marist College](https://maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/the-2024-presidential-election-june-2024/) poll, Oliver receives the support of 1% of registered voters nationally in a multi-candidate field. 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