Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson is embracing federal spending programs more than the party’s candidates have traditionally, he said in a Sunday interview, but believes they need to be reformed.
“We are the Libertarian nominees for president and vice president, but we’re not looking to eliminate Medicare,” Johnson said in a joint interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” with his running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld. “We do believe in a safety net. But there has to be reforms for Medicaid and Medicare and Social Security. If we’re going to put our heads in the sand, if we say we’re going to do nothing in any of these areas, it’s a fiscal cliff.”
Johnson, a former New Mexico governor, added that he believed his chance of winning the presidency was no less than Republican Donald Trump’s a year ago, saying the possibility was the “ultimate crazy.”
Responding to anchor Steve Kroft’s contention that the Libertarian chance of winning was less than 1 percent, Johnson responded, “I think that Donald Trump started out that way. I would’ve given him that … percentage at the very start. As crazy as this election season is, I think it could be the ultimate crazy, and that is [sic] the two of us get elected.”
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2600843
Asked about a recent interview in which he failed to identify Aleppo as the center of a humanitarian crisis in Syria, Johnson said the way he handled the situation should win him points. “I blame no one but myself. I understand the underlying policy.
“I am human, I have a filter, and it starts with honesty, it starts with the truth, it starts with transparency,” Johnson said. “And [I] would serve as president in that capacity. When I was asked the question, the first thing that came into my mind was, this is an acronym.”
In the event he wins or tilts the scale in favor of one of the two major party candidates, Johnson said, “I’m not going to lose one minute of sleeping ruining this two-party monopoly that is going on. I think they’re the dinosaurs, and we’re the comet in this whole situation.”
