Donald Trump spoke at the Libertarian Party’s national convention on Saturday night in an attempt to win over activists skeptical of the Republican front-runner and turn them away from independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Libertarian Party’s national convention will be held on Sunday at the Washington Hilton Hotel, with the slogan: “Becoming Ungovernable.”
The former president addressed a raucous crowd that appeared to be split 50-50 between his supporters and libertarian skeptics.
Trump tried to win over people by saying: “Last year, I was prosecuted by the government for 91 different things. So, if I wasn’t a liberal before, I certainly am a liberal now.”
To win over liberals, Trump said he would unleash “limited government so that people can have an unlimited future.” “Together, we will be unstoppable. If we unite, we will be unstoppable,” he promised.
At times, Trump mocked liberals in the audience, telling them: “If you want to win, just support me.”
“If you want to lose, don’t do this. Keep getting the 3 percent tax rate every four years,” Trump said before pledging to add a liberal to his cabinet.
Trump later promised to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbrict, the founder of the darknet market Silk Road, who was arrested in 2013 and remains in prison.
Trump’s campaign said his appearance was part of an ongoing effort to attract potential supporters in areas with a majority of non-Republicans. On Thursday, for example, he held a rally in the Bronx during a break in the hush money trial in New York. His team had expected some opposition to Trump at the convention but hoped he would get credit for showing up and getting out the vote.
Liberals will choose their White House nominee at a rally in Washington that ends Sunday. Kennedy, who initially ran in the Democratic primary, spoke at the convention on Friday.
Former President Donald Trump held a rally Thursday in the South Bronx, a historically Democratic district in New York City. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
Quite a few attendees were wearing MAGA hats. The convention was filled with booths promoting mutual aid groups, liberal comic books, and liberal-themed food and drinks. Another stall sold T-shirts that read: “F— the vaccine.”
The Libertarian Party typically invites Republican and Democratic candidates to speak, but this weekend was the first time the party accepted an invitation.
Tensions remained high ahead of Trump’s appearance. Supporters of the president showed up at the convention as the doors opened and occupied an area reserved for Liberal delegates, prompting calls for civility from Liberal national chairwoman Angela McArdle.
Liberal journalists and Democrats laboriously try to discredit Trump’s Bronx rally: ‘Fake, fabricated’
One attendee, retired attorney William Yeniscavich, walked up and down the aisles handing out signs that read “Free Ross,” referring to Ross Ulbricht.
While president, Trump considered intervening to free Ulbricht but ultimately decided not to pardon him.
Polls for months have shown that a majority of voters, even a majority of Democrats, do not want a rematch between Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020. That dynamic could increase support for the Libertarian candidate or alternatives like Kennedy, whose candidacy Biden and Trump allies fear could be a spoiler.
Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. speaks at a voter rally at the Stanley Market Hangar on May 19 in Aurora, Colorado. (Ellen H. Richardson/Denver Post)
One attendee told Fox News Digital that the gathering was “kind of falling apart.”
“Some people are angry and they don’t want Republicans to be part of the party,” he said. “The other side thinks it’s important for the media to focus on the Liberal Party and discuss some of the grievances, such as voting rights.”
Preschool music teacher and political TikTok creator Tiffany Cianci attended the event to record a speech for her online fans. She told Fox News Digital that there was likely to be crowd disruption during Trump’s speech.
Hundreds of attendees were seen carrying rubber chickens that made a constant loud noise.[American Values 2024] You have this idea, and then people who go to the conference regularly start buying a bunch, and then they all start showing up,” she said.
“They are not here to stop him from speaking, but to let him know that they feel strongly that avoiding debates with candidates and giving Americans a choice is an act of cowardice.”
Attendees at the Libertarian Party’s national convention in Washington, D.C., on Saturday held “Free Ross” signs for Ross Ulbricht, founder of the darknet market Silk Road. Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and remains in prison. (Timothy Nerozzi/Fox News Digital)
Sitting in the front row is Manga Anantatamul, the Republican candidate for Virginia’s 10th District. She said she came specifically to see Trump and received support from the MAGA caucus.
“I think their fiscal conservatism is the best — small government,” Anata Tamour told Fox News Digital. “These are some of the values we have to work with liberals on.”
Before Trump began his speech, Liberal delegates endorsed a variety of topics they wanted him to discuss, including calling for the release of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and promoting “peace instead of war.” Other topics they want to hear overlap with more traditional Republican rally slogans, including “Abolish the Deep State” and “Defend the Second Amendment.”
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Trump had previously praised Kennedy and briefly considered him for a seat on the Vaccine Safety Commission, but has now changed his tone. He said on social media that voting for Kennedy would be a “wasted protest vote” and that he would “even choose Biden over Junior.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
