Gary Johnson says he will focus on attacking Hillary Clinton, concedes he won't win election


On Tuesday, Libertarian vice presidential nominee William Weld dropped something of a bombshell, telling The Boston Globe that he will focus his energies on defeating Donald Trump — in effect, helping Hillary Clinton. His running mate, Gary Johnson, told The New York Times on Tuesday that since he won't be in the debates, he won't win — but he's going to keep on fighting until Nov. 8. Defeating Trump "may be his primary mission," Johnson said of Weld. "We're not scripted at all. And so I guess my role will be Hillary and his role will be Donald Trump."
Johnson made good on that plan immediately, blaming Clinton for the mess in Syria. "Because Hillary Clinton can dot the i's and cross the t's on geographic leaders, of the names of foreign leaders," he told the Times, "the underlying fact that hundreds of thousands of people have died in Syria goes by the wayside." Clinton, he added, "bears responsibility for what's happened, shared responsibility for what's happened in Syria. I would not have put us in that situation from the get-go."
Johnson did not say how he would have handled President Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown on protests in his country, but he made clear that he holds Assad's airstrikes and shelling of civilians and hospitals in Aleppo and elsewhere as morally equivalent to U.S. bombings. "Well no, of course not — we're so much better than all that," Johnson said in a voice the Times described as sarcastic. "We're so much better when in Afghanistan, we bomb the hospital and 60 people are killed in the hospital."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While he blamed Clinton for Aleppo, Johnson was careful not to have his own third "Aleppo moment," as the Times got cute:
Asked if he knew the name of North Korea's leader, Mr. Johnson replied, "I do." "You want me to name" the person, he said, then paused, before adding dryly, "Really." But he declined to supply the name. [The New York Times]
Johnson is in the high-single-digits in most polls, and he performs especially well among the millennial voters Clinton needs to win. His Aleppo moments don't seem to be helping him with that cohort, according to The Washington Post's David Weigel:
Though maybe "ill-informed" and "uneducated" aren't deal-breakers this election.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Political cartoons for October 18
Cartoons Saturday's editorial cartoons include conversion therapy, Russ Vought, and more
-
President Trump: ‘waging war’ on Chicago
Talking Point Federal agents are carrying out ‘increasingly aggressive’ immigration raids – but have sanctuary cities like Chicago brought it on themselves?
-
Sudoku medium: October 18, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections