Gary Johnson in 2016 State of the Union address
On Civil Rights:
It's racism to judge others by their birth, like Trump does
Q: Trump is looking at replacing Muslim TSA employees who wear hijabs, the traditional head scarf, with military retirees--with veterans. What did you make of the comment?JOHNSON: He has said 100 things that would disqualify anyone else from running
for president but doesn't seem to affect him. That statement in and of itself it really is--it's racist.
Q: You feel that his statement is racist, or do you think he is racist?
JOHNSON: Well, when it comes to Mexican immigration and that he would
call immigrants from Mexico murderers and rapists--look, that's just not true. They are more law-abiding than U.S. citizens and that is a statistic. The stuff he is saying is just incendiary.
Q: Incendiary, but do you think he himself is racist?
JOHNSON: Based on his statements, clearly. I mean, if you look up the definition of "racism," calling a U.S.-born Hispanic a Mexican and his inability to judge others [because he is Hispanic, that's racist].
Source: CNN 2016 State of the Union Q&A with presidential hopefuls
Jul 3, 2016
On Free Trade:
I'm a real skeptic on trade agreements, but I would sign TPP
Q: What's your view on the TPP? Here's what Donald Trump said:TRUMP: Ask Hillary if she is willing to withdraw from the TPP her first day in office and unconditionally rule out its passage in any form.
JOHNSON: I am a real skeptic when it comes
to these trade agreements that, in fact, these trade agreements can be laden with crony capitalism. But based on people that have been advising me that I hold in very high esteem, I am being told that the Trans-Pacific Partnership would,
in fact, advance free trade, and so I would support that document. The devil is in the details, though, and for the most part legislation that passes really
promotes crony capitalism, promotes those that have money as opposed to a level playing field for everybody. So I am a skeptic, but based on what I know, I would sign TPP.
Source: CNN 2016 State of the Union Q&A with presidential hopefuls
Jul 3, 2016
On Budget & Economy:
National debt, approaching $20 trillion, is bankrupting us
The President says that anyone who says the economy is in decline is peddling fiction. We can quibble over economists' numbers, but it doesn't take an economist to know that continuing to add to the national debt is bankrupting us--
and that debt has doubled on his watch, aided and abetted by Congress. My assessment of the State of the Union is quite different than President Obama's, and much simpler. I see a national debt that will hit $20 trillion by the time he leaves office.
Source: Libertarian Party response to 2016 State of the Union speech
Jan 12, 2016
On Drugs:
States are finally seeing the failure of the War on Drugs
To be fair, [under President Obama], there have been steps in the right direction. Meaningful criminal justice reform is taking hold across the nation.
More and more governments at all levels are finally seeing the failure of the War on Drugs. But far too many Americans are still being victimized by militarized police and heavy-handed laws.
Source: Libertarian Party response to 2016 State of the Union speech
Jan 12, 2016
On Health Care:
ObamaCare's promise of lower cost simply isn't happening
I applaud the President's optimism. I too am an optimist. But I have a real problem with basing that optimism on what government has done over the past 7 years and what President Obama wants it to do in the future.
He talks about medical advances, after having done everything in his power to kill medical innovation with new taxes and layers of bureaucracy.
His signature promise of better care and lower cost simply isn't happening.
I'm optimistic, but not because of anything the government is going to do for us. I'm optimistic because it is clear
America is tired of too much government and too little freedom, and appears poised to demand change--a different kind of change than we have gotten over the past 7 years.
Source: Libertarian Party response to 2016 State of the Union speech
Jan 12, 2016
On Homeland Security:
Spying on U.S. citizens dismantles the 4th Amendment
The President speaks of civil rights and those who have resisted expanding them. This from a President whose
Administration continues at every turn to dismantle the 4th Amendment, spy on American citizens and plant the government in every aspect of society.
Source: Libertarian Party response to 2016 State of the Union speech
Jan 12, 2016
On War & Peace:
We are no safer after years of failed nation-building abroad
My assessment of the State of the Union is quite different than President Obama's, and much simpler. I see a national debt that will hit $20 trillion by the time he leaves office. I see a government that was too big and too overreaching when
he took office, and has gotten more so under his watch. And I challenge anyone to show that we are today safer after years of war, failed nation-building abroad and foreign policy chaos.
Source: Libertarian Party response to 2016 State of the Union speech
Jan 12, 2016
Page last updated: Dec 03, 2021