Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson hasn’t kept quiet about his competitor Donald Trump in recent weeks, especially given his elevated chances of receiving those wayward Republican votes that can’t support a Trump presidency. He took the Melania Trump immigration controversy as a chance to strike the GOP nominee while also putting forth his own immigration platform. Now he’s using the Olympics as another avenue to attack Trump and his prospective “great wall” on the southern border.
While speaking with the Reno Gazette-Journal, Johnson talked partisan politics in DC and the chances of the upcoming presidential debates being bigger than the Super Bowl. But what stuck out was his jab at Trump’s wall:
“I hear that Donald Trump is watching the Olympics tonight. He’s seeing how high the Mexican pole vaulters go,” he said. “Look, the deportation of 11 million undocumented workers starts with misinformation. They are hardworking people that have come into the Untied States and they have to come in illegally because the government can’t provide them an easy way to get in legally.”
The vision of Mexican’s pole vaulting this gigantic wall with Trump on the side of it is humorous, but also stands of a reminder at just how silly this election has been since the beginning — or at least since Trump entered the race.
Johnson also talked a bit about the Black Lives Matter movement, taking a drastic turn from members of the Republican Party:
When asked if black lives matter — referencing the group who protests police brutality — Johnson responded with, “Of course black lives matter.” The issue, he and Weld said, started with rebuilding the education system in the inner cities. Weld also chastised Republicans for brushing off the issue altogether.
“When the question is put from the leaders of that movement do black lives matter, the answer comes back loud and clear from the Republican Party, ‘All lives matter,'” Weld said. “Well they might as well say, ‘Up against the wall.'”
If there was ever a time that a third-party candidate could pose a true threat above being a spoiler in a presidential election, this might be the time. There’s just no telling which major party will feel the effects yet.
(Via Reno Gazette-Journal / The Hollywood Reporter)