An article and video interview from USA Today on June 16:
“‘The two parties are the minority party currently to independents,’ Johnson tells USA TODAY’s weekly video newsmaker series. He says he disagrees with Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, on immigration, trade and more. And he says disparagingly that Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, believes ‘government is the solution to everything,’ and on national security issues ‘would be as hawkish as anybody who has occupied the presidency.’ …
“The record negative ratings for both major-party candidates — and the Libertarian Party’s meticulous efforts to get on ballots in all 50 states and the District of Columbia — has opened a path for Johnson to become the most consequential third-party contender since Ross Perot two decades ago. Johnson and his running mate, former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, have stronger Republican credentials than the GOP’s presumptive nominee can claim.
“And his longtime support for legalizing marijuana could help him appeal to Democratic-leaning Millennial voters who were drawn to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders but are less enthused about supporting Clinton. Johnson was the highest-ranking U.S. politician to back legalization until Sanders did so….
“In the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando that left 49 victims dead, Johnson says Americans would be safer if guns were more readily available, not more restricted — a stance that puts him in line with the fiercest advocates of Second Amendment rights. Even Trump has suggested in a tweet that he wants to discuss banning gun sales to those on the terrorist watch lists, a proposal Johnson opposes because some names may erroneously appear on them.
“‘All these atrocities have been happening in gun-free zones,’ he declares. ‘If there were law-abiding citizens that were carrying weapons — I’m not saying they would lessen the impact of these horrible atrocities, but maybe, maybe they could.’
“Johnson says the laws permitting ‘concealed carry’ in some states have reduced violent crime.”
