In an election cycle full of surprises -- and unprecedented dissatisfaction with the major party candidates -- voters got a look at a couple of fresh faces Wednesday night in a town hall event live on CNN.
Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson, flanked by his running mate Bill Weld, used the opportunity to introduce himself to voters and slam the existing Washington order.
"The two-party system is a two-party dinosaur, and they're about to come in contact with the comet here," Johnson told CNN's Chris Cuomo.
Weld, a former Massachusetts Republican governor who once worked in President Ronald Reagan's Justice Department and wanted to serve as an ambassador in the Clinton administration, said "that duopoly down there in Washington is not getting a lot done."
"It's almost like the parties exist more for the purpose of slandering each other than they do for having constructive approaches to legislation," Weld said. "We like to think we're going to be the third way."
READ: What is Libertarianism?
Despite their contempt for the current state of 2016 politics, the libertarians showed positive indifference to the political battles being waged on the campaign trail. When it came to Hillary Clinton attacking Donald Trump's business record or Trump calling Clinton corrupt, Johnson said he would "leave that to others."
"I don't think either of us are going to engage in any sort of name-calling," Johnson said. "We're going to keep this to the issues, and the issues are plenty."
The two had cordial words for Clinton and President Barack Obama, but were quick to voice their differences with Trump.
"Starting with immigration, starting with free trade, going on and on and on, killing the families of Muslim terrorists. Really, it's what's coming out of his mouth that I really have issues with," said Johnson, a former two-term governor of New Mexico, of Trump.
Weld, who regularly condemns Trump, cast his rhetoric as dangerous.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy
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Libertarian Town Hall with Gary Johnson and Bill Weld Hour. 2 | CNN Town Halls & Debates podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
