Fact Check: Elon Musk Supposedly Agreed to Host Presidential Debate Between RFK Jr., Biden and Trump. Here's What to Know

Claim:

In May 2024, Elon Musk agreed to host a presidential debate featuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Rating:

Context:

Although Musk agreed to host a presidential debate between the three candidates, Biden's and Trump's teams had not agreed to take part in a Musk-hosted debate at the time of this writing.

On May 22, 2024, an X user claimed Elon Musk agreed to host a presidential debate including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alongside incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden and his rival, former President Donald Trump.

"JUST IN: Elon Musk accepts RFK Jr.'s request to host a presidential debate with President Biden and Donald Trump," the X user wrote.

The X post had amassed more than 1.5 million views at the time of this writing.

The claim also appeared on a social media platform called Binance Square (archived here), in numerous X posts, on Reddit and on Facebook.

We have rated this claim "True" because X owner Musk did agree to host a debate between the three presidential candidates; however, there has been no confirmation from Biden or Trump's teams that they would take part.

On May 20, 2024, RFK Jr. shared an article by The Hill that said polling found 71% of people want to see the independent candidate involved in the June 27 televised presidential debate.

Referencing the article, Kennedy wrote:

Musk replied to the post later that day, saying: "You should be in the debate."

RFK Jr. then responded by asking the X owner whether he would host a presidential debate:

Musk simply replied: "Sure."

However, despite the billionaire agreeing to host a debate, there was no indication from Biden's or Trump's teams that either had agreed to take part in a debate involving Kennedy at the time of this writing.

Snopes contacted representatives for both candidates for comment and will update this article if we receive a response.

On May 16, 2024, before Musk's X posts, Trump told Scripps News he had "no problem" including Kennedy in a debate if the latter met the polling threshold.

However, The New York Times reported the day before that both Trump and Biden wanted to exclude Kennedy from the two agreed-upon debates.

Sources:

'Biden and Trump, Trading Barbs, Agree to 2 Presidential Debates, in June and September'. AP News, 15 May 2024, https://apnews.com/article/2024-election-presidential-debates-biden-trump-6b1d1dbb2ed61c7637041b23662d7da8.

Bose, Nandita, and Nathan Layne. 'Biden, Trump Agree to Debate on June 27 and Sept. 10'. Reuters, 17 May 2024. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-says-hell-debate-trump-twice-make-my-day-2024-05-15/.

Mueller, Julia. '71 Percent in Poll Want RFK Jr., Third Parties in Debate'. The Hill, 20 May 2024, https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4675158-71-percent-in-poll-want-rfk-jr-third-parties-in-debate/.

'Scripps News Exclusive: Trump Willing to Include Kennedy in Debates with Biden'. Scripps News (SNEWS), 16 May 2024, https://www.scrippsnews.com/Politics/presidential-election/scripps-news-exclusive-trump-willing-to-include-kennedy-in-debates-with-biden.

Swan, Jonathan, and Maggie Haberman. 'Biden and Trump Agree to Two Debates in June and September'. The New York Times, 15 May 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/15/us/politics/biden-trump-debates.html.

'X.Com'. X (Formerly Twitter), https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1792652457979592959. Accessed 23 May 2024.

'---'. X (Formerly Twitter), https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1792654161244561906. Accessed 23 May 2024.

'---'. X (Formerly Twitter), https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1793071292964548879. Accessed 23 May 2024.

'---'. X (Formerly Twitter), https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1793091770441748712. Accessed 23 May 2024.