The Libertarian Party’s national convention was thrown into chaos after delegates clashed heads over former President Donald Trump’s visit on Saturday.
Trump was invited to speak at the party’s national convention on May 25, a decision which the “vast majority” of the Libertarian Party’s members were not thrilled with Bill Redpath, a former national party chairman, told Politico.
“The vast majority of Libertarian Party members are not happy with this invitation,” Redpath told the outlet. “There are some people who call Trump the most Libertarian president of our lifetimes. That’s utterly ridiculous.”
Billionaire financier and Republican Party donor Jeff Yass described Trump as having “some libertarian instincts.”
Yass, who has donated to former Republican presidential candidate’s campaigns such as Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), has stated. while he won’t donate to Trump’s campaign, he will vote for him.
“He has some libertarian instincts for sure. Anti-war is big,” Yass said. “But anti-immigrant, anti-free trade are not good.”
Other speakers at the convention consisted of Gabriel Shipton, a film producer and the brother of imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange; Dave Smith, a historian and advocate of freedom; and Dr. Peter McCullough, a cardiologist and epidemiologist, among others.
Independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Ramaswamy also spoke at the convention.
While speaking, Kennedy criticized Trump and President Joe Biden for cracking down on U.S. freedoms and liberties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kaelan Dreyer, a Libertarian from New Mexico, reportedly proposed telling Trump “to go f**k himself,” according to the outlet. Dreyer was later escorted out of the convention hall.
Politico reported:
Trump advisers say they plan to use his Saturday speech to highlight the overlap in Trump’s policies with those embraced by right-leaning libertarians. Richard Grenell, a former Trump cabinet official who is widely expected to play a role in a potential second Trump administration, has been reaching out to Libertarian Party leaders and activists, as has Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a libertarian-leaning Republican. Trump allies say the goal isn’t necessarily to dominate among libertarian voters, but rather minimize defections to a third-party candidate. During the 2020 campaign, Libertarian Party candidate Jo Jorgensen drew more votes in some key states than the margin separating Trump and now-President Joe Biden.
While some Libertarian Party delegates, such as Nathan Madden from Arizona, suggested Trump could be “booed off stage.” Libertarian Party Chairwoman Angela McArdle pointed out that Trump and his campaign were “willing to come and speak.”
“President Trump, or at least his team, perceive themselves as needing our votes,” McArdle said. “They’re willing to come and speak to us, listen to us. That’s really unprecedented. Why wouldn’t we take that opportunity?”
McArdle has previously stated that for “50 years” the party has tried to bring their own candidates “on the main stage with major party POTUS candidates,” and had not succeeded until Trump’s acceptance to speak.
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