Libertarian nominee: Rumors VP will leave ticket are ‘bullshit’

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson got into a testy exchange with a journalist during a Facebook Live interview on Wednesday, saying that rumors his running mate Bill Weld will drop out of the race are “bullshit.”

{mosads}Veteran investigative report Carl Bernstein first floated last week the rumor that the former Massachusetts governor is so alarmed by the possibility the Libertarian ticket could play spoiler and elect Donald Trump as president that he’s considering dropping out of the race and backing Hillary Clinton.

“That is bullshit,” Johnson said flatly when pressed on the issue by USA Today opinion editor Bill Sternberg.

“We are on Facebook Live,” Sternberg responded.

There is heightened interest in third-party candidates this cycle, as Trump and Clinton deal with historically low approval ratings.

Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein are combining to take about 15 percent in the polls. Together, they’re sucking more support away from Clinton, who is the slight favorite in the general election to defeat Trump.

Johnson is running close to Clinton in some polls among independents. He is also doing better than expected among young voters who do not appear to be enthusiastic about Clinton’s candidacy.

That has Democrats on edge. They still vividly remember the 2000 election and blame Ralph Nader for costing Al Gore the presidency in the closest election in history.

Some liberals are pressing the Clinton campaign to make the case that a vote for Johnson or Stein is a vote for Trump.

That argument has infuriated Libertarians, who are still hopeful their nominee can reach the 15 percent polling threshold to qualify for the second or third presidential debates.

“I reject that, reject it, reject it totally,” Johnson said Wednesday. “I am giving people a first choice. I’m believing that everybody that is voting for me is voting for me on the basis of first choice.”

“The fact that I have proven myself to be fiscally conservative over the top, socially inclusive over the top stop with the bombs, stop with the support of regime change that has resulted in the mess that we have in this world,” he continued.

“Support among active military personnel—I am the number-one choice among active military personnel. And then support for free trade, something that neither Clinton or Trump are supporting.”