Rep. Justin Amash on Dumping Trump, Supporting Ted Cruz, And Why Apple Shouldn't Unlock its iPhone

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) views the rise of Donald Trump as understandable "push back" against a Republican establishment that has consistently refused to cut spending and the size and scope of the federal government. But for the libertarian grad of University of Michigan Law School, Trump is the wrong kind of push back.

"He cares about power, he doesn't really care about things like the Constitution, and I'm concerned that he could push us in a very dangerous direction," says Amash, who endorsed Ted Cruz after his first choice, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination. Despite serious differences—many of which he outlined in his endorsement statement—Amash says that Cruz is "a person I can work with and he’s a person I can persuade." The same, Amash warns, doesn't go for Marco Rubio or Trump. Indeed, Amash even suggests that in some ways Trump is a "bigger threat" to limited government than Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.

Nick Gillespie sat down with Amash at the 2016 Students for Liberty Conference to talk about the presidential race, the Apple iPhone case, what's at stake in Congress before the November elections, and reasons to be optimistic about the future.

About 7.30 minutes.

Shot by Meredith Bragg, Austin Bragg, and Josh Swain. Edited by Austin Bragg.

Music by Poddington Bear

Image from www.forestwander.com

For a full transcript, downloadable versions, and more links go to https://reason.com/reasontv/2016/03/01/rep-justin-amash-on-trump-establishment