In some ways, it was typical Donald Trump: He belittled the other candidates (“are these people stiffs or what?”), blasted US foreign policy leaders (“a bunch of weak sisters”), and then bragged that he “built a lot of great wealth.”
But then, surprisingly, he made a valid point: “It’s disgraceful” that third-party candidates are systematically excluded from the nationally televised presidential debates.
When Trump was a political outsider, he wanted the debate stage opened up to alternative viewpoints; now that he’s a member of the club, he wants it kept more exclusive than the Mar-a-Lago.
“I am not surprised that the two-party political establishment wants to keep the American people from having a third choice,”Trump said. “It’s amazing that they can get away with it.”
That was January 2000. The celebrity real estate magnate was flirting with a presidential run on the Reform Party ticket. Sixteen years later he’s the presumptive Republican nominee, and the mere hint of “a spoiler indie candidate” drives him into a spluttering rage on Twitter. Sad!
When Trump was a political outsider, he wanted the debate stage opened up to alternative viewpoints; now that he’s a member of the club, he wants it kept more exclusive than the Mar-a-Lago.
The leading third-party alternative in the 2016 race is Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor who has clinched the Libertarian Party nomination. Johnson has reached as high as 12 percent in the few polls that have bothered to mention his name, and he’s likely to be on the ballot in all 50 states.
http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/come-trump-debate-gary-johnson
But then, surprisingly, he made a valid point: “It’s disgraceful” that third-party candidates are systematically excluded from the nationally televised presidential debates.
When Trump was a political outsider, he wanted the debate stage opened up to alternative viewpoints; now that he’s a member of the club, he wants it kept more exclusive than the Mar-a-Lago.
“I am not surprised that the two-party political establishment wants to keep the American people from having a third choice,”Trump said. “It’s amazing that they can get away with it.”
That was January 2000. The celebrity real estate magnate was flirting with a presidential run on the Reform Party ticket. Sixteen years later he’s the presumptive Republican nominee, and the mere hint of “a spoiler indie candidate” drives him into a spluttering rage on Twitter. Sad!
When Trump was a political outsider, he wanted the debate stage opened up to alternative viewpoints; now that he’s a member of the club, he wants it kept more exclusive than the Mar-a-Lago.
The leading third-party alternative in the 2016 race is Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor who has clinched the Libertarian Party nomination. Johnson has reached as high as 12 percent in the few polls that have bothered to mention his name, and he’s likely to be on the ballot in all 50 states.
http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/come-trump-debate-gary-johnson
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