For all their disputes, Joe Biden and Donald Trump apparently see eye-to-eye on one thing when it comes to the presidential debates. The last thing they want is Robert Kennedy, Jr. in the room. Biden and Trump, who have agreed to two debates, the first one in June on CNN and the second in September on ABC News, are going it alone.

Not surprisingly, Kennedy is aggrieved. In a Trumpian statement, he declared that Biden and Trump are “trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win.” He added, “keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy.” For Kennedy, the decision to shun him always works to his benefit. He can exult in the role of anti-establishment candidate and suggest that Biden and Trump are actually in cahoots to stifle fresh voices. “If Americans are ever going to escape the hammerlock of the two-party system,” Kennedy stated, “now is the time to do it. These are the two most unpopular candidates in living memory.”

The reason that Biden and Trump fear Kennedy is not that they believe he will win the debates, let alone the presidency, but that he’s popular enough to tip the outcome to one side or the other. Currently, it’s unclear who he would siphon off more votes from in swing states such as Michigan. With his unusual blend of views, he would certainly have enlivened the debate stage.

But the debates are likely to be quite energetic even without Kennedy. If, as I suspect, the Manhattan jury convicts Trump on many of the 34 charges that he faces, the June debate would feature the first convicted felon in American history running on the Republican ticket for president. The absence of an audience at the debates may slightly crimp Trump’s style, but he is sure to come out swinging. But not too much.

Much as Michael Cohen managed subdue his penchant for braggadocio at the Manhattan trial, Trump would profit from coming across to a national audience, not as the unhinged demagogue ranting about “vermin” at his rallies, but a sober and restrained leader who seeks to put an end to the tumult of the Biden area, particularly abroad. He can point to the Middle East, Europe, and even Africa as areas where America is taking it on the chin. The latest rebuff has come in Niger, where the local potentate has summarily ordered Washington to evacuate the two military bases it recently constructed. Russian troops appear poised to take them over.

What about Biden? Ever since his State of the Union address, it’s been clear that Biden is feeling far more chipper than his detractors are ready to acknowledge. He enjoyed taunting the House Republicans during his speech. Since then, he’s deftly exploited their divisions to secure Ukraine aid, a feat that looked like mission impossible for awhile.

Biden is eager to confront Trump in June to help further dispel the impression that he’s a doddering pensioner and to fortify the contrast between himself and the tempestuous Trump. On Wednesday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Crooked Joe Biden is the WORST debater I have ever faced - He can’t put two sentences together!” If Trump really believes that, he’s headed for a fall.

Pundits such as David Frum have argued that it would be a mistake for Biden to elevate Trump by debating him. “The networks want their show,” he wrote, “but to give the challenger equal status on a TV stage would be a dire normalization of his attempted coup.” But in moving quickly and setting the terms of the debate, Biden has already outflanked Trump. He may well do it again at the debate.

About the Author

Jacob Heilbrunn is editor of The National Interest and is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. He has written on both foreign and domestic issues for numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Reuters, Washington Monthly, and The Weekly Standard. He has also written for German publications such as Cicero, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Der Tagesspiegel. In 2008, his book They Knew They Were Right: the Rise of the Neocons was published by Doubleday. It was named one of the one hundred notable books of the year by The New York Times. He is the author of America Last: The Right’s Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators.