Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld vouched for Hillary Clinton in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Tuesday night, further distancing himself from his own party’s ticket and outlining what he sees as the threat posed by Donald Trump.
Maddow asked Weld if a hypothetical voter in North Carolina would “pick the Libertarian vote in that case if the stakes are that high between voting for Clinton and Trump?”
“I see a big difference between the R candidate and the D candidate. And I’ve been at some pains to say that I fear for the country if Mr. Trump should be elected,” Weld replied.
“I’m here vouching for Mrs. Clinton and I think it’s high time somebody did,” he added later, “and I’m doing it based on my personal experience with her and I think she deserves to have people vouch for her other than members of the Democratic National Committee, so I’m here to do that.”
Going further, Weld said he had “a lot to say” for voters choosing between the two major-party candidates.
“I have known her for 40 years,” Weld said of Clinton. “I know her well professionally, I know her well personally. I know her to be a person of high moral character, a reliable person, and an honest person, however so much Mr. Trump may rant and rave to the contrary. So I’m happy to say that, and people can make their own choices.”
But Weld also offered praise for his running mate, Gary Johnson.
“I think he’d be capable of being a good chief executive, and good commander-in-chief, Aleppo to the contrary not withstanding,” Weld said. He was referring to an interview in which Johnson asked “What is Aleppo?” in response to a question about the war-torn Syrian city.
Weld has spoken out forcefully against Trump and favorably of Clinton before.
In appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Tuesday morning, Weld read from George Orwell’s “1984″ and compared the book’s “Two Minutes Hate” rituals to Trump rallies. Last week, Weld also published a statement on the Libertarian ticket’s website addressed “to all those in the electorate who remain torn between two so-called major party candidates.” It warned voters: “This is not the time to cast a jocular or feel-good vote for a man whom you may have briefly found entertaining.”
Watch below:
President Stoner probably thought Weld just gave him a ringing endorsement.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Weld says something even more explicit as the election gets closer----
given the intellectual level of the average Libertarian, you now…
Why is he grabbing his liver?
Well said, Mr. Weld. It almost redeems you from agreeing to be on the ballot with "Gary “Baked” Johnson…
Wouldn’t your heart sink if you were teamed with Gary “Baked” Johnson?
I thought he was making sure he still had his wallet.