US Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein tells Al Jazeera her supporters should “absolutely not” vote for Clinton to stop a Trump presidency

U.S. Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein tells Mehdi Hasan that her supporters should “absolutely not” vote for Hillary Clinton to stop a Donald Trump presidency, even in a swing state.

·         “It will be horrific if Trump wins, but I am not at all reassured by the policies of Hillary Clinton.”

·         “Hillary Clinton is not different enough from Donald Trump that she or the Democratic Party are going to save your job, save your life, or save the planet.”

·         “We have two ways to commit suicide here, and I say no thank you to them both.”

·         “It’s great that they [Russia and U.S.] are collaborating, but they should be collaborating on a weapons embargo and on an embargo against the funding of terrorist enterprises.”

(Washington D.C. – 30th September) – Ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Mehdi Hasan speaks with Green Party candidate Jill Stein on Al Jazeera English’s  ‘Upfront’ about her drive to seek the country’s highest office – and whether her campaign will by default lead to a Donald Trump presidency. 

“I have no illusions that the Democratic or Republican parties are going to fix this. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” Jill Stein told Mehdi, referring to a trajectory of environmental degradation, unemployment and an outsized influence of corporations.

“I will feel terrible if we do not fight with every ounce of our bodies, and every ounce of our spirit to establish the democracy which is essential, if we are going to get out of here alive,” Stein stressed.

Jill Stein is currently polling around three or four percent. Due to these low numbers, she has been shut out of the presidential debates, along with Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson.

Given the low likelihood of winning, Mehdi pressed Stein on who she would prefer to see as president, Republican candidate Donald Trump or Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

“It’s not a matter of not liking them,” she said, declining to choose either candidate. ”It’s that in this election, we’re not just deciding what kind of a future we will have, but whether we will have a future at all.”

Mehdi asked Stein how comfortable she would be knowing that a vote for her might usher in a tip in the scales for Trump.  “It will be horrific if Trump wins, but I am not at all reassured by the policies of Hillary Clinton,” she said.

Stein refused to endorse one candidate over the other, stating that neither candidate is better than the other and that a large number of Americans are unhappy with either choice from the major political parties.

“Hillary Clinton is not different enough from Donald Trump that she or the Democratic Party are going to save your job, save your life, or save the planet,” the Green Party candidate insisted. “We have two ways to commit suicide here and I say no thank you to them both.”

Turning to foreign policy, Mehdi pointed out that her visit with Vladimir Putin earlier this year drew criticism from two leading Russian environmentalists. They accused her of being too soft on the Russian president, something Stein flatly denied.

“I went there to criticize Vladimir Putin for his extremely ineffective war policy which I would put together with that of the U.S. In fact, the U.S. is collaborating with Russia now in this bombing campaign. It’s great that they’re collaborating, but they should be collaborating on a weapons embargo and on an embargo against the funding of terrorist enterprises.”

Note to Editors

·         This UpFront interview with Jill Stein airs Friday 30 September at 19:30GMT.

·         The full show will be available through this link: www.aljazeera.com/upfront from 19.30GMT onwards.

·         If using quotes please credit Al Jazeera English and ‘UpFront’ and please add this link to online copywww.aljazeera.com/upfront

·         UpFront broadcasts on Fridays at 19.30 GMT. Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront