WASHINGTON — In a speech that began and ended with overwhelming boos, Donald Trump tried to court libertarian voters at their party’s national convention on Saturday by telling them to support him or remain losers.
“You should nominate me or at least vote for me,” the Republican presidential candidate told the crowd of libertarian delegates, to boos.
“Only do that if you want to win,” he continued. “If you want to lose, don’t. Keep getting your three percent every four years.”
The twice-impeached former president was laughed at almost every time. At least one person visibly dangled a rubber chicken with “Debate Bobby” written on it, a message mocking Trump for rejecting a request from independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this month. had ignored to debate him at the libertarian meeting.
There were groups of Trump supporters at the event, and they tried to drown out all the boos with “We want Trump!” chants.
But they were in the minority. And there was already drama brewing between them and the libertarians before Trump’s event even started. Organizers asked Trump supporters to clear the front rows for libertarian delegates, who will decide on Sunday which candidate to support. This reshuffle infuriated Trump loyalists, who called the situation “an ambush.”
It was never a good idea for Trump to speak at this event. Libertarians were skeptical, if not downright hostile, of him, and those tensions were on full display in Saturday’s speech.
The reason he spoke at this event at all is because the election appears to be getting close and he, like President Joe Biden, wants to convince voters who might otherwise consider supporting Kennedy. Even if Kennedy were to gain just a few percentage points, it could potentially decide whether Biden or Trump gets a second term in the White House.
Amid the drama, Trump continued his comments, promising rewards for libertarians who help him get elected. He promised to put libertarians in his Cabinet and in top positions in the White House. He tossed out policy ideas that he thought would appeal to libertarians, such as denying federal money to schools with mask mandates and banning the creation of a central bank digital currency.
He even quoted Patrick Henry, because why not: “Give me liberty or give me death.”
But the Republican presidential hopeful continued to slide back into insulting the very group of people he was supposedly trying to win over.
“I’m asking for the endorsement of the Libertarian Party, or at least your votes,” Trump said later to loud boos. “Lots of libertarian votes.”
“Or you can continue as you have done for the past decades and get your three percent, and then meet again, get another three percent,” he continued. “It’s time to be winners.”
After Trump’s speech William Redpath, former chairman and three-time treasurer of the Libertarian Party, questioned why Trump spoke to the group at all.
“When I heard on May 1 that Donald Trump would actually be speaking at the Libertarian Party convention, it hit me like a blow,” he said in a statement.
“It’s bad enough for a [Libertarian Party] national convention to allow a rival presidential candidate to promote his candidacy,” Redpath said. “But to invite Donald Trump to speak is incomprehensible. This is where the ‘any publicity is good publicity’ philosophy takes you.”
