A New York magazine headline turned heads on Wednesday, suggesting that Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld was giving up on the Gary Johnson campaign. But, well, it’s complicated.
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In an interview with the Boston Globe on Tuesday, Weld said he has his attention on Donald Trump‘s agenda and is focusing on defeating Trump for the remainder of the campaign.
“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 told the Globe.
This prompted the New York magazine headline, and subsequent copycat reblogs from outlets like Vice, which used “Gary Johnson’s own VP pick pretty much just endorsed Hillary Clinton” for its story.
Late Wednesday, Weld made a Facebook statement clarifying that his focus on defeating Trump did not mean abandoning Johnson’s campaign.
“The story did not, unfortunately, focus on my assurance that I believe Gary Johnson to be the best candidate for President, and that I would not be on the ticket with him if that were not the case,” Weld wrote on Facebook.
In fact, he touched on this in his interview. “I have had in mind all along trying to get the Donald into third place, and with some tugging and hauling, we might get there,” Weld said.
Rumors also circulated that Weld was now supporting Hillary Clinton, but he has continuously shown his disapproval with Clinton’s military and economic platforms. It was also addressed in the interview.
“The Democratic Party, if it gets in office, the horror show is they [would] spend and borrow us into the poor house,” Weld told the Globe.
Weld also spoke about his future plans with the Globe, mentioning he is also looking at rebuilding the GOP and working with Republicans like Mitt Romney and Haley Barbour after the election.
Libertarians have, however, questioned Weld’s loyalty to the party. And leaders, including Romney, have previously suggested Weld should have been at the top of the Libertarian ballot.