Johnson Could Work on Being More “Presidential,” According to Stossel

John Stossel is an anomaly of broadcast television, a lone libertarian in a sea of liberals and conservatives. In fact, with the cancelation of Judge Andrew Napalitano’s Freedom Watch, Stossel is now the “go-to” guy for libertarians in the mainstream media. When he speaks, they listen. For that reason, an endorsement from Stossel is groundbreaking in the eyes of the liberty movement.

When it comes to Gary Johnson, Stossel feels the former Governor could use some work on his professionalism. In an interview with beinglibertarian.com‘s Charles Peralo, Stossel says that although Johnson is the “most impressive candidate,” he doesn’t come off as “presidential” to most voters.

April 1st, 2016 marks the first nationally broadcast Libertarian Presidential Debate, which will air on Fox Business Network. Prior to this date, Libertarian Debates were hosted in online video chats or hosted in person, being either broadcast live online or at a later time. In comparison, this debate is a landmark victory for everyone calling for third party attention on mainstream media.

One of the biggest problems with third parties has been their branding. Many view the Libertarian Party as a fringe offshoot of the Republican Party, dismissed before it’s platform and beliefs can be truly understood or fairly represented. This, in conjunction with a winner take all electoral system, marginalizes the party and causes the majority of independent voters to still vote within the two party system. According to Stossel, Johnson’s eccentricity puts voters off of his message.

Being Libertarian:

“So what would you say [Johnson] does wrong?”

Stossel:

“If I had to say anything, it’s that he just doesn’t really come off as the guy most people would say is “presidential.” He tends to just go on and on a bit too much about him being an athlete or what is in his personal life. He can come off a little boring and he might talk about marijuana a bit more over what most people would like. So, he needs some work.”

Additionally, Stossel had this to say about the other Libertarian candidates, including TLR’s founder Austin Petersen:

“Well Austin is a very young guy. He’s barely old enough to be president and I think that does show a bit in this debate and just in general. I’m not really sure about how he came into this race or what his reasoning was, but I think there’s a little lack of seasoning on him. That though isn’t really a bad thing. Watching the debate after it was done, I can’t say he won the debate, but he had his moments where the guy clearly showed he has some talent for this space… Well, [McAfee] has this just checkered past and I don’t really know if that moves people properly. I am not really sure why he’s running and not really sure if just what people know about his personal life makes him the most viable person to run for president. However, he talks, about tech security and technology where he is very knowledgeable and could be a great candidate there.”

Be sure to tune into Fox tonight for the LP debate!

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