7 Issues Where Donald Trump is MORE Libertarian than Gary Johnson
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of middle ground with Donald Trump. You either love him or you hate him. For every Republican Twitter account with “Make America Great Again” in the bio, there is a “#NeverTrump” lurking right behind it. Those who oppose Trump usually claim the libertarian mantle, and most of them have jumped on board the Gary Johnson train.
What if liberty-loving Republicans and Libertarians are wrong? Is it possible that Donald Trump is actually MORE Libertarian than Gary Johnson?
Here are seven reasons why this might be true:
Every Cake You Bake.
Gary Johnson believes that the government should compel private businesses, with deadly force, to do something they disagree with. Austin Peterson hammered this point in the Libertarian debate with John Stossel earlier this year, and the governor admitted that he would force a Jewish baker to bake a Nazi-themed cake. I wonder if the governor would compel a Muslim baker to make a cake with the image of Muhammed? Can a Civil War historian compel Walmart to make a Confederate Flag themed cake now despite their new policy banning it?
Donald Trump says he’s for “religious freedom.” That puts him more firmly in line with the 1st Amendment, and isn’t that a more Libertarian position than compelling by force?
Syrian Refugees.
Gary Johnson believes we should take “our fair share” of Syrian refugees. When the American government takes on refugees, it takes responsibility for their health and well-being. It offers benefits. It offers free transportation, shelters, guidance, food, medicine, and almost anything else that the taxpayer can think of. Wouldn’t the Libertarian position oppose taxpayer-funded intervention of this scale in favor of charitable assistance? What constitutes our “fair share” is also unclear in the governor’s answer. We know it’s somewhere between 1 and 65,000 according to his own words.
Donald Trump doesn’t want Syrian refugees harbored in the United States. He cites concerns over terrorism and ties to the broader issue of border security, but is this not within the purview of the Executive Branch? If Donald Trump supports a religious litmus test for refugees, this is clearly not a Libertarian-backed idea. However his call for Middle Eastern neighbors of Syria to do more for the refugees flowing across their own borders would seem to be more Libertarian for Americans as it doesn’t involve greater involvement and mandatory expenditures from our government.
The United Nations.
Gary Johnson doesn’t say a lot about it, but he does ask people to visit www.isidewith.com to see which candidate they should be voting for. It shows that he clearly supports the United States remaining in the United Nations. If Libertarians are truly in favor of maximum freedom for the individual, does it make sense to support a quasi-world government? Are we more free with weakened national sovereignty? From the pacifists in the style of Penn Jillette to the “hawks” like John McCain, the idea of decisions on alliances, sanctions, and war being removed from the direct representation of the people through the U.S. Congress should be cause for concern.
Donald Trump says, “The United Nations is not a friend of democracy, it’s not a friend to freedom, it’s not friend, even, to the United States of America…” His criticism of a the international group is a far cry from Gary Johnson’s relative silence on the issue.
NATO.
Gary Johnson was asked if the United States should continue to be a part of NATO, and whether we should keep spending US taxpayer money, based on relative GDP, for its collective defense. He said, “Yes, and refusing to defend other NATO countries sets a dangerous precedent for the balance of global power.” Again, we have the Libertarian candidate for the presidency calling for a global alliance, funded mostly by American taxpayers, for the purposes of military spending on behalf of mostly foreign nations.
Donald Trump is no fan of NATO. Among other criticisms, he doesn’t like that the American taxpayers are on the hook for having about 65,000 troops stationed in Europe. It’s a valid question. Why should you and I, the American taxpayer, fund the defense of an industrialized nation like Germany, while the German taxpayer gets to spend his tax money on improving his country’s infrastructure and social programs like welfare and healthcare? Is that really a Libertarian position?
Black Lives Matter.
Gary Johnson has come out in support of Black Lives Matter, which on the surface isn’t a non-Libertarian thing to do. Any good Libertarian opposes a militaristic police state, and he or she supports the 4th Amendment rights for all Americans (as well as all Constitutional Rights). When talking about police shootings on the Fox News Channel’s The View, Gary Johnson conflated the issue of police shootings with all crime, citing that black Americans are six times more likely to be shot than white Americans, although much of this is related to gang violence. Pandering to a group isn’t the Libertarian thing to do. The criticism of “white lives matter” by Johnson is up to interpretation, but the real mantra of the party should be “Each Life Matters.”
Donald Trump has an interesting take on this, and one that is more Libertarian, yet again, than the Libertarian candidate’s. While he’s quick to call out members of the Black Lives Matter movement for some in their midst who call for the murder of police officers, he has said time and again that this is a condition of economics. Poor urban environments are breeding grounds for hate and fear-mongering. He calls for supporting law enforcement, but he also calls for increasing prosperity for young black Americans. Pandering to a group is something out of the Democratic party’s playbook. Trying to come up with a free market solution is far more Libertarian.
Carbon Taxes and Forced Vaccination.
Gary Johnson recently backtracked on his call for supporting a carbon “fee,” which he touted as a “free market solution.” Ditto for his mis-statement on forced vaccinations. This was a major gaffe from the Libertarian candidate, and it may have cost him some support among hardcore Libertarians.
Donald Trump tweeted, “I will not support or endorse a carbon tax!”
He also tweeted, “No more massive injections. Tiny children are not horses–one vaccine at a time, over time,” which is a policy endorsed by Dr. Ben Carson, the former Republican presidential candidate and neurosurgeon.
Crimes of National Security.
If you take Top Secret / SCI information, remove the header, and send it over an unclassified network, you have committed a crime. Whether you say you “intended” to commit a crime or not is irrelevant. As someone who has served in the military, worked in the Defense Department, and in the Intelligence world, I have two decades of experience in dealing with classified information. You cannot “accidentally” do what Hillary Clinton did anymore than you can accidentally use advanced data wiping techniques to sanitize your hard drives before an investigation and claim ignorance. Hillary Clinton got away with federal crimes because of her position. There is no other interpretation of what happened.
Gary Johnson defended Hillary.
Donald Trump wants her arrested.
Libertarians are for decriminalizing personal choices, such as drug use, but is the party for allowing powerful people to avoid responsibility for their own actions? I don’t think so.
Conclusion.
Does all of this mean that Donald Trump is really the one true Libertarian running for president? Not exactly, but these are seven reasons why Gary Johnson deserves a little more scrutiny. When the Libertarian nominee claims that he agrees with the self-professed Socialist candidate 73% of the time, it should give any Libertarian a reason to step back and take a wider view.