Trump: A vote for the Green Party helps me

Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would be happy if people voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein for president because it would draw votes away from Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

{mosads}During a rally in Toledo, Ohio, Trump appeared to dismiss candidates outside of the two major parties.

“I think a vote for Stein would be good — that’s the Green Party,” he said. “Because I figure anyone voting for Stein is gonna be for Hillary. So I think vote for Stein is fine.”

He added that he doesn’t “quite get” the appeal of the “other guy,” apparently referring to Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson.

In the aftermath of Clinton’s victory over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Democratic presidential primary, many Sanders supporters have called for his backers to support Stein in the November general election instead of Clinton.

Clinton backers have argued that such a move amounts to a vote for Trump. They point to the 2000 presidential election, when Democrat Al Gore lost to Republican George W. Bush in a very close race, which was at least partially because Gore lost many liberal votes to Ralph Nader.