Gary Johnson: The Republican Party Is Dying

In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC, Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson said the 2016 presidential election is proof of “the demise of the Republican Party.”

“This is an opportunity, I think, for the Libertarian Party to become a major party,” said Johnson, the former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico.

Johnson said he believes Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was able to easily clinch the GOP nomination because he tapped into a lot of anger and frustration around the country.

“Thirty percent of Republicans believe the scourge of the Earth is Mexican immigration. What’s the reason for why I don’t have a job?” Johnson said, adding that immigrants have become a convenient scapegoat for people and politicians. But, Johnson said, that isn’t the case. “They are not taking jobs that U.S. citizens want. They’re the cream of the crop when it comes to workers. And they are contributing to the economy.”

In addition to a more free-market approach to immigration, Johnson said he would like to eliminate income tax, corporate tax, enforce a carbon tax to fight climate change, and get rid of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation legislation.

Johnson is also a big proponent of marijuana legalization and talked about how he used medical marijuana after a serious paragliding accident, the recovery from which took three years.

“It was really painful and I have an aversion to painkillers,” Johnson explained. “I’m laying on the floor and someone comes by and they said, ‘You know, you want me to get you some marijuana for this?’ And I thought, ‘Yes, I do. Please.’ And I think that it absolutely helped me through this period that was really, really difficult.”

Although Johnson said he hopes to win the election, the immediate goal is to get into the presidential debates. But to do that, he needs to increase his standing in the polls. As of now, Johnson hovers around 9 percent, according to Real Clear Politics polling averages. But according to the 2016 criteria from the Commission on Presidential Debates, a candidate needs at least a 15 percent polling average.

“I do think there’s a better than 50 percent chance that we’ll be in the presidential debates,” Johnson told CNBC. “If we’re not in the presidential debates, hey, no chance of winning. No chance.”

Sources: CNBC, Real Clear Politics, Commission on Presidential Debates / Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr