Whether they knew it it not, the Johnson / Weld campaign's only purpose was to be a pawn for the establishment. They were treated as such, getting surprisingly more and favorable coverage than previous third party campaigns exactly until the point it was clear they took more votes from Clinton than Trump. Then, suddenly, in one interview, half way through a question about health care, the entire media establishment decided to refer to the war in Aleppo, where previously it was in Syria.