By Maria Ortiz
May 25, 2024, 10:49 PM EDT
Former President Donald Trump provoked mixed reactions Saturday before a rowdy crowd as he appealed to attendees at the Libertarian National Convention to “unite with us” to defeat President Joe Biden in the 2024 election.
Trump addressed a rowdy crowd Saturday, apparently made up of his supporters and libertarians and He was repeatedly booed as he spoke and many in the crowd shouted insults and criticized him.
The Libertarian National Convention will be held at the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington, DC, until Sunday with the theme: “Become ungovernable.”
“The fact is that we should not fight among ourselves. If Joe Biden returns, there will be no more freedom for anyone in our country. Join us in a partnership, we ask libertarians. We must work together. Combine with us. “You have to combine with us,” Trump said to the audience.
The comments provoked a mix of boos and cheers from the crowd of attendees, both libertarian and pro-Trump.
The former president said his appearance at the convention was to “extend a hand of friendship” to the party, which, according to him, “can make a big difference.”
“I’m asking for the endorsement of the Libertarian party, or at least a lot of their votes,” Trump said, drawing boos but also drawing chants of “we want Trump” from his supporters in the crowd.
“Maybe you don’t want to win… Keep getting your three percent every four years,” Trump said in an apparent jab at the party’s recent showing in the polls.
As part of his appeal to the party, Trump also pledged to include a libertarian in his cabinet if he wins the Oval Office in 2024, and to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, who is serving a life sentence for his role in operating an illegal drug buying and selling platform. Chants of “free Ross” broke out several times throughout the night’s events.
A central element of the Libertarian Party platform is the belief in limited government and unlimited individual freedoms. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, emphasizing equality before the law and the rights to freedom of association, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, and freedom of choice.
Libertarians will choose their candidate for the White House in the 2024 elections during their conventionwhich concludes on Sunday.
Trump’s appearance also gave him a chance to court voters who might otherwise support independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who gave his own speech at the Libertarian convention on Friday.
Polls have shown for months that most voters do not want a rematch like the one in 2020 between Trump and President Joe Biden.
That dynamic could potentially increase support for an alternative such as the Libertarian candidate or the independent candidate Kennedy Jr., whose candidacy has allies of Biden and Trump worried that he could be the one who takes away decisive votes from them to win the elections.
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