Trump, RFK Jr. face hostile reception at Libertarian convention amid efforts to influence voters

Washington — Former President Donald Trump and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Attempts to appeal to the Libertarian Party fell on deaf ears this weekend, with crowds of third parties interrupting and mocking both at the party’s convention in Washington, D.C.

A chaotic scene unfolded when Trump took the stage Saturday, as Libertarians clashed with pro-Trump attendees throughout his speech, resulting in several people being kicked out of the room and crowd divided between boos, jeers and chants directed at Trump.

“You can either nominate us and give us the job, or you can give us your votes,” Trump said to boos as he left the stage.

Trump repeatedly responded to the crowd and its hostility, at one point telling them to “keep getting 3% (of the national vote) every four years”, adding “maybe you don’t want to win” .

Jo Jorgensen, Libertarian Party candidate in 2020, received 1.85 million votes, or less than 1.2% of the popular vote. And in 2016, Gary Johnson, the party’s nominee that cycle, received 4.48 million votes, or about 3.3% of the popular vote.

In his speech to libertarian voters, Trump called for the commutation of Ross Ulbrichtthe life sentence. Ulbricht, the founder of the website Silk Road, was convicted of several crimes linked to the black market site. Silk Road allowed users to buy and sell products anonymously, including drugs and fake government documents. The Libertarian Party included the release of Ulbricht in its program.

However, when announcing his 2024 re-election campaign two years ago, Trump called on Congress to pass a law mandating the death penalty for drug traffickers.

On Friday, Kennedy – who received a warmer reception than Trump – tried to rally libertarians to his side by promising to pardon government whistleblower Edward Snowden, currently exiled in Russiaand drop espionage charges against Julien Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks fighting US attempts to extradite him from Britain – two figures revered by libertarians. He has also repeatedly criticized Trump for his handling of the pandemic, saying Trump violated the Constitution by authorizing lockdowns and travel restrictions.

The Libertarian Party leadership’s decision to host Trump and Kennedy divided the party and sparked aggressive reactions from some delegates who sought to exclude both candidates from the event.

Although neither candidate was vying for the Libertarian nomination, both hoped to win over some uncommitted Libertarian voters.

Convention organizers also invited President Biden, but he declined to make remarks.

Libertarian Party leaders said they chose to invite the candidates to allow members to speak directly to those who could win the White House in November.

“We are being denied a place on the debate stage, so we decided to make our own stage the focal point for the eyes of the world,” said Brian McWilliams, communications director for the National Libertarian Party.

During a work session Friday, several delegates were heard shouting abuse at Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle for objecting to Trump and Kennedy taking the stage at the convention.

Several booed and shouted obscenities at McArdle as she tried to calm the crowd. Security then escorted a man out of the session.

Arielle Shack, a Libertarian voter at the convention Friday, told CBS News she attended Kennedy’s speech in protest, which took place at the same time as the raucous work session.

Shack said she traveled to the convention from New Jersey to represent other New Jersey libertarian voters who felt Kennedy and Trump should not have been invited because they weren’t real libertarians.

“We don’t want people here who aren’t libertarians. If they don’t adhere to our principles, we’re not going to vote for them,” Shack said. “You won’t see libertarians voting for a Kennedy, a Democratic Kennedy. He didn’t get the Democratic nomination, so now he wants to be an independent. But I think we can see through it.”

Another Libertarian voter, Richard Edgar of New Jersey, said he felt the invitation from Trump and Kennedy was a “slap in the face” to Libertarian voters, who expected to hear Libertarian candidates make their point. view.

Michael Reeves — a Libertarian delegate from Daphne, Alabama, who said he has been a member of the party for about 25 years — said the presence of Trump and Kennedy at the convention “is a testament to the influence we could wield on an election at this stage. , that they feel they have to take care of us in one way or another.”

Reeves said he would likely vote for the Libertarian candidate after sitting out 2020. Reeves said Kennedy’s speech was “not bold enough” and that he was “disappointed” with Trump’s first term to the White House.

“I thought he had an opportunity to make real change in Washington, but he didn’t,” Reeves said of Trump. “The best we can say is that he hasn’t started any new wars, and that’s a pretty low bar.”

He added that Democrats and Republicans were moving the country toward a “more collectivist and authoritarian state.”

“To me, they essentially represent the same thing, the things they disagree on are pretty minor compared to the things they agree on,” Reeves said. “And they make all the wrong decisions about the things they agree on.”