Story highlights
- Bill Weld and his running mate Gary Johnson are divided when it comes to Clinton
- Weld wants the Libertarian Party to earn at least 5% of the popular vote in this election
Washington (CNN)Libertarian vice presidential nominee Bill Weld once again stuck up for Hillary Clinton, just days before his third-party bid finally faces off against her at the polls.
"One of the issues in this campaign has been: Do you like the two-party monopoly? ... We don't," Weld said in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. "Having said all of that, I do see a big difference between the two other candidates."
Weld said he wanted the Libertarian Party to earn at least 5% of the popular vote in the general election and thus qualify for federal funding and increased ballot access. But he also made sure to hammer home his problems with Donald Trump and his deep-seated respect for Clinton.
He called Trump "totally unfit to be president" and said Clinton was "a perfectly reputable, professional, responsible candidate for president of the United States and deserves to be treated as such."
"Frankly, I think Mrs. Clinton has been receiving a pretty raw deal," Weld said.
Weld and his running mate, Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, failed to qualify for the national debates. He has since aimed his fire almost entirely at Trump and has repeatedly defended Clinton, or at least deferred on attacking her.
When it comes to Clinton, the former Massachusetts governor and his running mate are divided. As Weld defended Clinton on CNN's State of the Union, Johnson told MSNBC that Clinton would be "under a drumbeat" of calls for impeachment.
Asked about his running mate's defense of Clinton, Johnson told MSNBC: "He's really got it in for Trump."
Johnson made their differences clear in his characteristically off-kilter style.
"When it comes to either one of them," Johnson said before holding his nose shut with his fingers.