President Trump did better than expected last night at the CNN-hosted presidential debate. He restrained himself when provoked and didn’t treat the event like a boorish rally. President Biden did worse than expected, at least for those who imagined that rest, intense preparation, and medical treatment would carry him through the evening without exposing his terrible decline.

Many speculate that Mr. Biden’s handlers deliberately allowed him to implode publicly. If he and Vice President Harris are encouraged to step down before the Democratic National Convention in August, the party and Mr. Biden’s pledged delegates can choose a replacement and try to rush someone like Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, across the finish line in November. The Biden campaign insists today that the president will not drop out of the race, but it also has insisted for years that Mr. Biden is sharp, cogent, and agile.

An independent presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., streamed his own debate on X after CNN excluded him from its stage. He came across as thoughtful, informed, and steady.

Mr. Kennedy should be feeling proud of his performance, especially among the younger voting demographic, but it is hard to see his national path to victory and to the White House. At this point, the two “winners” in last night’s debates, Trump and RFK Jr., should unite and form a winning plan for the election of 2024. This would be the moment for RFK Jr. to end his presidential bid and join forces with Trump as his future attorney general. 

Mr. Kennedy’s integrity and record as a successful attorney would bring back credibility to a Department of Justice degraded by its current leadership. As attorney general, he could restore America’s confidence in its system of law and order and effect issues he cares about deeply, like censorship and free speech, religious freedom, illegal immigration, and Covid-era abuses of American civil liberties. He is uniquely suited to this role at this time, and we all need him.

Ending his candidacy for president would be a big step, and a big advantage for Trump, who would inherit some of Mr. Kennedy’s constituency. Mr. Kennedy would have to be compensated with Trump’s promise of the AG position, and perhaps bargain for something more. He might help Trump select the next health and human services secretary as well. 

As more information comes to light about corruption during the Covid years, there is a growing appetite for a full review of our health industry and greater receptivity to ideas that RFK Jr. has long championed but have been mocked as “crazy.” Today, questions about vaccine safety are being considered publicly on social media by people like Bill Ackman, the hedge fund manager. Discussions about corporate capture of medical journals and the press are happening at dinner tables. 

RFK Jr. is one of the many people we have to thank for starting these much-needed debates. He is the right person to help select a replacement for Secretary Becerra and to restore confidence in our medical system.

This is RFK Jr.’s moment. I hope he, and President Trump, seize it.