WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump plans to speak Saturday evening at the Libertarians’ national convention to court a segment of mostly conservative voters who are often skeptical of the former president as he tries to to ensure that party activists are not attracted to him. the campaign of independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Libertarians will choose their candidate for the White House at the meeting in Washington that concludes on Sunday. Kennedy, who initially ran in the Democratic primary, addressed the convention on Friday but has indicated he is not interested in being the Libertarian candidate.
Polls have shown for months that most voters, even a majority of Democrats, do not want a rematch between Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020. That dynamic could potentially boost support for an alternative like the Libertarian candidate or Kennedy, whose candidacy has allies of Biden and Trump concerned that he could be a spoiler.
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson won about 3% of the national vote in 2016, when Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in a close race. Party nominee Jo Jorgensen only achieved just over 1% in the 2020 final contest.
Peter Goettler, president and CEO of the libertarian Cato Institute, suggested in a Washington Post column published this week that Trump’s invitation to the convention violated the meeting’s core values and that “the political party that pretends to be libertarian has transitioned to another identity.”
Trump’s campaign says his appearance is part of an ongoing effort to reach potential supporters in places that are not heavily Republican. For example, he held a meeting in the Bronx on Thursday during a break in his hush money trial in New York. His team expected some at the convention to oppose Trump, but hopes he gets credit for showing up and fighting for votes.
The Libertarian ticket will try to gain support from both disaffected Republicans and those on the left who oppose perceived government overreach. Such voters could also lean toward Kennedy.
The son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy cites his record of fighting for the middle class against powerful interests. He is also trying to win over conservatives who want the national Republican Party to move away from Trump.
Kennedy’s anti-vaccine activism has appealed to some on the right who oppose COVID-19 vaccine mandates. He has also suggested that some of the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, may have been prosecuted for political reasons.
Trump previously praised Kennedy and once considered him for a vaccine safety committee, but has now changed his tune. He suggested on social media that a vote for Kennedy would be a “wasted protest vote” and that he would “even take Biden over Junior.”
During his time in office, Trump called the COVID-19 vaccine “one of the greatest miracles in the history of modern medicine.” But the former president now says that if elected, he would give “not a dime” to public schools and universities that require COVID-19 vaccination. He also accused Kennedy of being a “phony” opponent of vaccines — efforts that could bolster Trump’s support among some in his base who might otherwise consider defecting to Kennedy.
In his speech at the Libertarian convention, Kennedy accused Trump and Biden of trampling on personal freedoms in response to the pandemic that spanned their presidencies. Trump bowed to pressure from public health officials and closed businesses, Kennedy said, while Biden was wrong to mandate vaccines for millions of workers.
Vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, have been proven to be safe and effective in laboratory testing and real-world use in hundreds of millions of people over the past decades. The World Health Organization estimates that childhood vaccines could prevent as many as 5 million deaths per year.
Biden, meanwhile, has won the support of many high-profile members of the Kennedy family in an effort to marginalize Kennedy.
Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, blasted Trump and key Republicans for opposing abortion access and supporting limits on civil society, saying in a statement that “freedom is not free in the Republican Party of Trump and this weekend there will be only one.” more reminder of that.”
