Libertarians ignore Trump and RFK to choose Chase Oliver

The Libertarian Party has chosen Chase Oliver as its 2024 presidential candidate, rejecting proposals from Donald Trump and Robert F Kennedy.

Mr. Trump failed to file the necessary paperwork to be considered as a candidate during the voting process, and Mr. Kennedy lost in the first round.

Mr. Oliver’s victory came after seven rounds of voting at the party convention, held in Washington.

Mr Trump and Mr Kennedy gave speeches at the convention, with the former president and Republican candidate booed by the crowd.

Mr. Oliver, 38, is a first-time presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party and has tried to win several congressional elections in Georgia.

He said he was aiming to win 2% of the vote in the 2024 election.

“I think it’s a very achievable thing, and we can certainly improve on that with a hard-fought campaign that wakes people up,” he told CNN.

Mr. Oliver is running on a platform that includes decriminalizing abortion, limiting U.S. involvement in foreign wars and deep cuts in federal budgets – a standard platform for America’s third party, which advocates small government and individual freedom.

Mr. Oliver also took aim at Mr. Trump, saying the former president was “not a libertarian… “You are a war criminal and you deserve to be ashamed.”

Mr. Trump was booed and heckled as he declared he wanted the Libertarian nomination during his convention speech on Saturday.

He argued that libertarians should unite with him in an effort to beat President Joe Biden, and claimed that part of his record proved he was a libertarian.

“Maybe you don’t want to win…keep getting your 3 percent every four years,” he said.

Mr. Trump even tried to joke about his four criminal charges, saying the charges convinced him to join forces with the Libertarians.

“If I wasn’t a libertarian before, I certainly am now,” he said.

On Sunday, he said he “absolutely” would have won the party’s nomination without his Republican nomination.

“I absolutely would have had it if I wanted it (as everyone could see from the enthusiasm of the crowd last night!),” he said on his social media platform Truth Social.

He added: “As a Republican candidate, I am not allowed to have another party’s nomination.”