Libertarian Johnson defends Melania Trump on speech

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson defended Melania Trump during a stop in Chicago Tuesday, saying he could understand how the wife of soon-to-be Republican nominee Donald Trump could have mistakenly plagiarized parts of the speech she delivered to the GOP convention Monday night.

A few sentences of the address Melania Trump delivered in Cleveland were nearly identical to passages of first lady Michelle Obama's speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2008, a revelation that dominated coverage of the presidential race Tuesday.

And while Johnson has sought to appeal to middle-of-the-road voters fed up with Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, he did not seek to capitalize on the latest Trump flub following an appearance before the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board.

"Here's what I make of it, and it's a defense of Melania: She's brought into this, make a few comments, Melania, make it from the heart and I don't know what the circumstances are," said Johnson, a former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico. "But maybe she got online and 'what did Michelle do' ... or some staff did for her. Anyway, no stones cast on my part."

Asked if the mistake reflected poorly on the campaign and Trump's leadership, Johnson punted. "There will be others to do that. I'll refrain. I just can see how it could happen," he said, before starting to laugh. "Whoever did it, should have done a better job of paraphrasing as opposed to (using) just the exact lines."

Johnson was joined by his running mate, former Massachusetts Republican Gov. Bill Weld, as the two tried to make the case for their third-party campaign. They positioned their ticket as the campaign of the center conservative on fiscal matters but liberal on social issues.

"I'm maintaining in this cycle that most people are Libertarian, it's just that they don't know it," said Johnson, who noted he first identified himself philosophically as a Libertarian in 1971, though he later ran for office as a Republican. It was that year when he read a short book on what it meant to be a Libertarian and decided he was one.

The name of the book or author? "I can't even remember."

But Johnson said he did remember voting Libertarian for the first time in 1984, when he said he cast a ballot for David Bergland over Republican President Ronald Reagan, because "Reagan had blown the lid off the deficits."

During the hourlong session with the Tribune Editorial Board, Johnson often took a back seat to Weld, who spoke more and jumped to answer many of the questions as the presidential nominee looked on.

If elected, the two said they'd cut federal spending by 20 percent in their first budget and would eliminate the Department of Education, Department of Commerce and Department of Housing and Urban Development. They said they'd place states in charge of Medicare and Medicaid and allow them the autonomy to determine their own eligibility rules. And they said they'd cut back on unnecessary military spending and try to close unneeded bases.

Johnson said Clinton and Trump had their "heads in the sand" on Social Security and vowed to reform the system by increasing the retirement age and making income a factor in whether individuals qualify for assistance.

And Johnson said he was the highest-ranking elected official in the country calling for the legalization of marijuana back in 1999, a position he's still pushing today.

As for his opponents, Johnson said the Trump agenda is fascism, calling his vows to round up and deport illegal immigrants "horrible" and "incendiary."

Added Weld: "There has to be a change in tone. Mr. Trump is very much a part of the problem and not part of the solution. I make a point of saying in a Johnson-Weld White House, you're not going to get any bullying and you're not going to get any bluffing, you're not going to get any sanctimonious lectures."

Johnson said Clinton's agenda is one of being beholden, predicting higher taxes and a mantra of "just give us the money, we'll take on more of the problems."

Much of Johnson and Weld's work right now is to convince voters their ticket has legitimacy. There are a lot of what-ifs.

The federal debate commission requires candidates to receive at least 15 percent support in polls to be included in this fall's televised debate, a policy Johnson's campaign has challenged in court. Still, the two projected they'd reach the 15 percent threshold anyway, noting a recent CNN poll that had them receiving 13 percent of the vote. The Real Clear Politics average has Johnson receiving 8.5 percent.

Weld said "it's possible" former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will endorse their campaign. He also noted the campaign's fundraising could rise as high as $50 million to $100 million if they get that valuable debate airtime.

"If we get in the presidential debates," Weld said, "we're going to be dangerous to the other two parties."

bruthhart@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @BillRuthhart

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Libertarian Johnson defends Melania Trump on speech