Libertarian VP Candidate Says His Primary Focus Is Taking Down Trump

Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts, talks to the Times-Union editorial board on Thursday Sept. 22, 2016 in Jacksonville, Fla. Weld is running with former New Mexic... Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts, talks to the Times-Union editorial board on Thursday Sept. 22, 2016 in Jacksonville, Fla. Weld is running with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. (Bob Mack /The Florida Times-Union via AP) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Bill Weld may be running as the Libertarian vice presidential candidate, but his focus from now through Election Day will be squarely on taking down Republican nominee Donald Trump.

“I think Mr. Trump’s proposals in the foreign policy area, including nuclear proliferation, tariffs, and free trade, would be so hurtful, domestically and in the world, that he has my full attention,” Weld said in an interview with the Boston Globe published Tuesday.

As Weld put it, Trump’s policy agenda belongs “in a class by itself.”

While the former Massachusetts governor insisted he was still working with his running mate, Gary Johnson, the Globe reported that Trump’s improved polling numbers at this late stage of the 2016 race prompted Weld to shift his focus.

Weld’s remarks also come in the wake of several high-profile foreign policy blunders by Johnson, who failed to recognize the name of Aleppo, the besieged Syrian city, and to identify a single foreign leader he admired during the Libertarian town hall.

Weld, who last week said he was “not sure anybody is more qualified than Hillary Clinton to be president of the United States,” plans to travel to a series of red states in the next five weeks to push his anti-Trump message.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Governor Johnson: “What’s a Trump?”

  2. It’s unanimous! All three VP candidates agree: Trump is unqualified to be president. Pence and Kaine both said as much in last night’s debate.

  3. Why are you running then, instead of endorsing HRC ?

    With the current poll numbers you are just making trouble, and helping Trump.

  4. I wish I was close enough to smack him upside the head and spit in his face .
    Listen shithead , if you want to take down Donald Trump stop your useless vanity campaign and endorse Hillary. I would like to give you credit for not being a stupid as Gary Johnson

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

26 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for rfscalf Avatar for connie_boyd Avatar for alcaray Avatar for leftflank Avatar for bobatkinson Avatar for trnc Avatar for invitedguest Avatar for sickneffintired Avatar for daveyjones64 Avatar for phillydave Avatar for astralfire Avatar for maxaroo Avatar for ignoreland Avatar for rb639 Avatar for captaincommonsense Avatar for clauscph Avatar for jordanolsen26 Avatar for hgc10 Avatar for inbloom271 Avatar for grack Avatar for zsak Avatar for maximus Avatar for Rocdred

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: