Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson and running mate Bill Weld appeared in a CNN town hall hosted by Anderson Cooper on Wednesday that was promoted online with the hashtag #LibTownHall.
The two former Republican governors of New Mexico and Massachusetts are fighting to hit 15 percent in polling, which would allow them to participate in televised presidential debates, NPR reported, adding that the ticket is at 9 percent in the latest CNN/ORC poll. The last third-party candidate to debate in a presidential election was Ross Perot in 1992.
Johnson and Weld are positioning themselves as a less polarized option than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump, CNN noted.
Weld criticized Trump as having "a screw loose," going on to say, "It's a temperamental question and, I say this almost with affection for Donald Trump, maybe he should consider some other line of work like anything other than president of the United States."
"What we both like to talk about is was there anything that Hillary didn't promise in her speech the other night," Johnson added. "And then with regard to Donald Trump, just starting off with immigration. We're a country of immigrants. We should be embracing immigration."
Johnson said the two would operate in partnership more like co-presidents if elected.
"I think it would be refreshing to have a party that was not terribly partisan holding the White House, and we would hire the best people from the Democratic Party, the smartest people from the Republican Party and the best people from the Libertarian Party," Weld said.
CNN highlighted other comments from the candidates on social issues ranging from Black Lives Matter and LGBT rights to marijuana.
On Black Lives Matter, Johnson said, "My head's been in the sand on this. I think we've all had our heads in the sand, and let's wake up. This discrimination does exist."
On LGBT rights, he said, "I fear that under the guise of religious liberty, the LGBT community is being discriminated against. I don't want to support discrimination in any form whatsoever."
With regard to marijuana, Johnson said: "What we need to do is de-schedule marijuana as a Class 1 narcotic. There needs to be research and development on marijuana, and in no way are we supporting kids being able to use marijuana."
Twitter users shared mixed reactions to the town hall appearance.
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