Mitt Romney Wants To See Gary Johnson And Bill Weld On The Debate Stage

On Wednesday, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney broke a two month Twitter silence to tweet that he hopes to watch Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson and his running mate Bill Weld debate Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Tim Kaine and Mike Pence this fall.

In July, Johnson told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that Romney was considering endorsing him for president. “I think he’s considering the possibility of doing this,” the former governor of New Mexico said. “Of actually endorsing the two of us.” Weld agreed: “He’s thinking about it, Wolf, and I don’t want to press the point unless we get to 15 percent, because then I think the case for it is overwhelming,” he said.

Weld, who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997, is a close associate of Romney’s. Back in June, Romney told CNN he’d gladly vote for Weld for president. “If Bill Weld were at the top of the ticket, it would be very easy for me to vote for Bill Weld for president,” Romney said. “So I’ll get to know Gary Johnson better and see if he’s someone who I could end up voting for. That’s something which I’ll evaluate over the coming weeks and months.”

Romney isn’t the only one urging the debate commission to allow Johnson and Weld podiums on the debate stage. The Boston Globe editorial board published an op-ed Tuesday arguing that Johnson should be allowed to debate regardless of whether he’s reached the 15 percent polling threshold required to qualify.

The first presidential debate will be moderated by NBC’s Lester Holt on September 26. A week later, on October 4, CBS News’ Elaine Quijano will anchor the vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Tim Kaine. ABC’s Martha Raddatz and CNN’s Anderson Cooper will co-moderate a town hall style debate between Clinton and Trump October 9. Fox News’ Chris Wallace will host the final presidential debate on October 19.

(Via CNN & Boston Herald)