WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night鈥檚 Libertarian Party National Convention, with many in the crowd shouting insults during his speech and decrying him for running up towering federal deficits and enriching pharmaceutical companies with the COVID-19 vaccine development.
When he took the stage, many on-hand jeered while some supporters clad in 鈥淢ake America Great鈥� hats and T-shirts cheered and chanted 鈥淯SA! USA!鈥� Though the audience was divided, it was a rare moment of Trump coming face-to-face with detractors, which is highly unusual for someone accustomed to staging rallies in front of ever-adoring crowds.
Libertarians, who prioritize small government and individual freedoms, are often skeptical of the former president, and his invitation to address the convention has divided the party. Trump tried to make light of that, referring to the four criminal indictments against him, the former president smiled and said, 鈥淚f I wasn鈥檛 one before I sure as hell am a Libertarian now.鈥�
Trump expressed gratitude to the 鈥渇ierce champions of freedom in this room鈥� and called President Joe Biden a 鈥渢yrant鈥� and the 鈥渨orst president in the history of the United States,鈥� prompting some in the audience to scream back in response: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 you.鈥�
Trump is getting booed at the Libertarian National Convention
鈥� Aaron Rupar (@atrupar)
As the insults continued Trump hit back, saying 鈥測ou don't want to win鈥� and suggesting that some Libertarians want to 鈥渒eep getting your three per cent every four years.鈥�
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson won about three per cent of the national vote in 2016, but nominee Jo Jorgensen got only a bit more than one per cent during 2020鈥檚 close contest.
Libertarians will pick their White House nominee during the gathering, which wraps on Sunday. Trump鈥檚 appearance was meant to court voters who might otherwise support independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who gave his own Libertarian convention speech on Friday.
Polls have shown for months that most voters do not want a 2020 rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden. That dynamic could potentially boost support for an alternative like the Libertarian nominee or Kennedy, whose candidacy has allies of Biden and Trump concerned that he could be a spoiler.
Trump continued to press on with his speech, saying he鈥檇 come 鈥渢o extend a hand of friendship鈥� in common opposition to Biden. That prompted a chant of 鈥淲e want Trump!鈥� from supporters, but they were drowned out by boos and chants of 鈥淓nd the Fed!鈥� 鈥� a common refrain from Libertarians who oppose the Federal Reserve.
Trump tried to win over the crowd by pledging to include a Libertarian in his Cabinet, but that drew mostly jeers. He did get a big cheer when he promised to commute the life sentence of the convicted founder of the drug-selling website Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, and potentially release him on time served.
That was designed to energize Libertarian activists who believe government investigators overreached in building their case against Silk Road, and who generally oppose criminal drug policies more broadly. Ulbricht鈥檚 case was much-discussed during the Libertarian convention, and many of the hundreds in the crowd for Trump鈥檚 speech hoisted 鈥淔ree Ross鈥� signs and chanted 鈥淔ree Ross!鈥� as he spoke.
Despite those promises, many in the crowd remained antagonistic to Trump. One of the candidates vying for the Libertarian presidential nomination, Michael Rectenwald, declared from the stage before the former president arrived that 鈥渘one of us are great fans of Donald Trump.鈥�
Those for and against Trump even clashed over seating arrangements. About two hours before the former president took the stage, Libertarian organizers asked Trump supporters in the crowd to vacate the first four rows.
They did that so convention delegates 鈥� many of whom said they鈥檇 traveled from around the country and bought expensive tickets to the proceedings 鈥� could sit close enough to hear the speech. Many of the original seat occupants moved, but organizers eventually brought in more seats to calm things down.
The Libertarian split over Trump was reflected by Peter Goettler, president and chief executive of the libertarian Cato Institute, who suggested in a Washington Post column that the former president鈥檚 appearance violated the gathering鈥檚 core values and that 鈥渢he political party pretending to be libertarian has transitioned to a different identity.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 campaign argued that it was part of an ongoing effort to reach would-be supporters in places that are not heavily Republican, like the former president鈥檚 rally Thursday in the Bronx during a pause in his New York hush money trial.
Trump aides said before the speech that while they expected antagonism, they also hoped some in the Libertarian crowd would give Trump credit for showing up.
The Libertarian ticket, meanwhile, will try to draw support from disaffected Republicans as well as people on the left who oppose perceived government overreach. Such voters could also gravitate toward Kennedy.
Trump previously praised Kennedy and once considered him for a commission on vaccination safety, but has changed his tone now. He suggested on social media that a vote for Kennedy would be a 鈥渨asted protest vote鈥� and that he would 鈥渆ven take Biden over Junior.鈥�
The former president, while in office, referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as 鈥渙ne of the greatest miracles in the history of modern-day medicine.鈥� He鈥檚 since accused Kennedy of being a 鈥渇ake鈥� opponent of vaccines.
In his speech at the Libertarian convention, Kennedy accused Trump and Biden of trampling on personal liberties in response to the pandemic. Trump bowed to pressure from public health officials and shut down businesses, Kennedy said, while Biden was wrong to mandate vaccines for millions of workers.
For his part, Biden has promoted winning the endorsement of many high-profile members of the Kennedy family, in an attempt to marginalize their relative鈥檚 candidacy.
Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for Biden鈥檚 reelection campaign, also slammed Trump and top Republicans for opposing access to abortion and supporting limits on civil society, saying in a statement Saturday, that 鈥渇reedom isn鈥檛 free in Trump鈥檚 Republican Party and this weekend will be just one more reminder of that.鈥�
