Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
CTV
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s 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 “Make America Great” hats and T-shirts cheered and chanted “USA! USA!” 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, “If I wasn’t one before I sure as hell am a Libertarian now.”
Trump expressed gratitude to the “fierce champions of freedom in this room” and called President Joe Biden a “tyrant” and the “worst president in the history of the United States,” prompting some in the audience to scream back in response: “That’s you.”
As the insults continued Trump hit back, saying “you don't want to win” and suggesting that some Libertarians want to “keep getting your three per cent every four years.”
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’s close contest.
Libertarians will pick their White House nominee during the gathering, which wraps on Sunday. Trump’s 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.
