Donald Trump was booed multiple times during his speech at the Libertarian Party National Convention on Saturday night, with many in the audience yelling expletives throughout the speech, in which he accused drug companies of inflating the huge federal deficit and enriching themselves with the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
As Trump took the stage, many in the audience booed, while some of his supporters, wearing “Make America Great” hats and T-shirts, cheered and chanted “USA! USA!” While the audience was divided, it was a rare moment for Trump to come face to face with his critics and highly unusual for someone accustomed to holding rallies in front of enthusiastic crowds.
Libertarians, who prioritize small government and individual freedom, are often skeptical of the former president, and his invitation to speak at the convention caused a divide within the party. Trump tried to play it off, and when he mentioned the four criminal charges against him, the former president smiled and said, “If I wasn't before, I'm definitely a libertarian now.”
Trump thanked “the fierce defenders of freedom in this room” and called President Joe Biden a “tyrant” and “the worst president in the history of our country,” prompting some in the audience to shout back, “That's you!”
As the insults continued, Trump fired back, saying “you guys don't want to win” and suggesting some libertarians “want to keep taking 3% every four years.”
Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson won about 3% of the national vote in 2016, but candidate Jo Jorgensen received just over 1% in a close race in 2020.
The Libertarian Party will choose its candidate for the White House at a convention that ends Sunday, and Mr. Trump's attendance was aimed at garnering support from voters who might back independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who spoke at the Libertarian Party convention on Friday.
Polls have shown for months that a majority of voters do not want a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden in 2020. The trend could boost support for Libertarian Party candidates and alternative candidates like Kennedy, who worry that Biden and allies of Trump could undermine the race.
Trump continued his speech, saying he came to “extend the hand of friendship” based on their shared opposition to Biden. Chants of “We need Trump!” erupted from his supporters, but were drowned out by boos and chants of “End the Fed!”, a standard phrase used by libertarians who oppose the Fed.
Trump was largely booed as he tried to win over the crowd by promising to add Libertarians to his Cabinet, but drew loud cheers when he promised to commute the life sentence of convicted Silk Road drug trafficking website founder Ross Ulbricht and possibly release him after he serves his sentence.
This was designed to energize libertarian activists who believed government investigators had been too forceful in preparing their case against Silk Road and who generally oppose drug criminalization policies. Ulbricht's case was hotly debated at the Libertarian convention, where many of the several hundred people in the audience who heard Trump speak carried “Free Ross” signs and chanted “Free Ross!” throughout the speech.
Despite these promises, many in the audience remained hostile toward Trump. “We don't have any big Donald Trump fans among us,” declared Michael Recktenwald, a candidate for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination, onstage before Trump's arrival.
Trump supporters and opponents even clashed over seating arrangements: About two hours before the former president was due to take the stage, Libertarian Party organizers asked Trump supporters in the audience to clear the first four rows.
They did this so that delegates who had traveled from around the country and paid high ticket prices could sit close enough to hear the speeches. Many of the original seating was moved, but organizers eventually added more seats to calm things down.
The division within the Libertarian Party over Trump was also reflected by Peter Gettler, president and CEO of the libertarian group Cato Institute, who wrote in a Washington Post column that the former president's attendance went against the rally's core values and suggested that “the party that pretends to be libertarian has shifted to a different identity.”
The Trump campaign argued that it was part of a continuing effort to reach out to potential supporters in areas that aren't heavily Republican, such as a rally the former president held in the Bronx on Thursday during a break in his hush money trial in New York.
Trump aides said before the speech that they expected hostility but were hopeful that some libertarians would appreciate Trump's attendance.
The Libertarian Party, meanwhile, is looking to attract disaffected Republicans and leftists who oppose government abuses — voters who could also be drawn to Kennedy.
Trump previously praised Kennedy and even considered him for a seat on a committee on vaccine safety, but has now reversed course, suggesting on social media that a vote for Kennedy would be a “wasted protest vote” and that he would “pick Biden over Biden Jr.”
During his time in office, the former president called the COVID-19 vaccine “one of the great miracles in the history of modern medicine” – and has since accused Mr Kennedy of being a “fake” opponent of vaccines.
In his speech at the Libertarian National Convention, Kennedy accused both Trump and Biden of trampling on individual liberties in their response to the pandemic. Trump bowed to pressure from public health officials and closed businesses, while Biden made a mistake by requiring millions of workers to get vaccinated, Kennedy said.
Biden, meanwhile, has been pushing to garner endorsements from many prominent members of the Kennedy family, trying to downplay their relative's candidacy.
Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for Biden's reelection campaign, also condemned Trump and top Republicans for their opposition to abortion access and support for restricting civil society, saying in a statement Saturday that “freedom is not free in President Trump's Republican Party, and this weekend will be yet another reminder of that.”
