Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump speaks at the Libertarian Party National Convention at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, Saturday, May 25, 2024.
Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press/Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press
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Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press/Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump was booed repeatedly during his speech at the Libertarian Party’s national convention on Saturday night, with many in the crowd shouting insults, denouncing his COVID-19 policies, his massive federal budget deficits and lying about political records, among others.
Many jeered as he took the stage, while some supporters wearing “Make America Great” hats and T-shirts cheered and chanted “USA! USA!” It was a rare moment for Trump to come face to face with his public critics, something highly unusual for someone accustomed to holding rallies in front of eternally adoring crowds.
Liberals who prioritize small government and individual freedoms are often skeptical of the former president, and his invitation to speak at the convention has divided the party. Trump tried to downplay the point by mentioning the four criminal indictments against him, joking: “If I wasn’t a liberal before, I certainly am a liberal now.”
Trump attempted to praise the “defenders of freedom in this room” and called President Joe Biden a “tyrant” and “the worst president in American history,” prompting some viewers to scream: “That’s you.”
As the insults continued, Trump eventually fired back, saying “you don’t want to win” and suggesting that some liberals want to “continue to get 3% every four years.”
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson won about 3% of the national vote in 2016, but nominee Jo Jorgensen received just over 1% in a tight race in 2020.
Liberals will choose their White House nominee during the convention, which ends Sunday. Trump’s appearance also gives him an opportunity to appeal to voters who might otherwise support independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who spoke at the Libertarian Party’s convention on Friday. gave a speech.
Polls for months have shown that a majority of voters do not want a rematch between Trump and 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.
Despite the raucous atmosphere, Trump continued to speak, saying he was there to “extend a hand of friendship” and work together against Biden. That prompted chants of “We want Trump!” from supporters, but more often “End the Fed!” — This is a common refrain among liberals who oppose the Fed. A man holding a sign that read “No wannabe dictators!” was dragged away by security.
Trump tried to win over people by promising to put a liberal in his cabinet, but many in the crowd booed in disbelief. The former president did get loud cheers when he promised to commute the life sentence of Ross Ulbricht, founder of the drug sales website Silk Road, and possibly release him on time.
The move is intended to galvanize liberal activists who believe government investigators went too far in the case against Silk Road and who generally oppose broader drug crime policy. Ulbricht’s case was widely discussed during the Libertarian Party convention, and many of the hundreds of people in attendance at Trump’s speech held up “Free Ross” signs and chanted the phrase as he spoke.
Despite these promises, many in the crowd remained opposed. “None of us are big fans of Donald Trump,” Michael Rectenwald, one of the candidates vying for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination, declared at the podium before the former president arrived. After the speech, Rettenwald and other liberal White House candidates took to the stage to mock Trump and his speech.
Pro- and anti-Trump supporters even clashed over seating arrangements. About two hours before the former president arrived, Libertarian organizers asked Trump supporters in the crowd to vacate the first four rows. They wanted conference delegates — many of whom said they traveled from across the country and bought expensive conference tickets — to sit close enough to hear the speeches.
Many of the original seat occupiers moved out, but organizers eventually added more seats to calm things down.
Reflecting on liberal divisions over Trump, Peter Goettler, president and CEO of the libertarian Cato Institute, said in a Washington Post op-ed that the former president’s presence violated the organization’s core values, and “parties pretending to be liberal have transformed” into a different identity.
The Trump campaign noted that Biden himself did not attend the Libertarian Convention and argued that the former president did so to reach potential supporters in places where Republicans do not hold majorities, including in New York on Thursday. assembly.
The Liberals will try to gain support from disaffected Republicans and those on the left. These voters may also lean toward Kennedy.
Trump did not discuss Kennedy in detail Saturday night. But the former president began attacking Kennedy after previously praising him and briefly considering him for a seat on the Vaccine Safety Commission. He suggested on social media that a vote for Kennedy would be a “wasted protest vote” and that he would “even choose Biden over Junior.”
While in office, the former president called COVID-19 vaccines “one of the greatest miracles in the history of modern medicine.” He has since accused Kennedy of being a “fake” opponent of vaccines.
In his speech at the Libertarian Party Convention, Kennedy accused Trump and Biden of trampling on personal freedoms in response to the epidemic. Kennedy said Trump was wrong to force vaccinations on millions of workers as Trump bowed to pressure from public health officials and closed businesses.
Biden, for his part, has pushed to win the support of many prominent members of the Kennedy family in an attempt to marginalize their relative’s candidacy.
Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for Biden’s reelection campaign, slammed Trump and top Republicans for opposing abortion and supporting restrictions on civil society, saying in a statement on Saturday that “Freedom under Trump There is no freedom in the Republican Party, this weekend will only be freedom.” Just another reminder of this. “
