Donald Trump was relentlessly booed and jeered during a speech Saturday night at the Libertarian National Convention, driving him from the stage in 34 minutes.
"Liar!" "Panderer!" "You crushed our rights!" members of the crowd shouted out as he pleaded for their support at the convention in the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Libertarian Party presidential candidate Michael Rectenwald said earlier from the stage that Trump had "violated the basic premises of libertarianism," which supports as little government as possible.
Trump mocked the party's poor performance even as he asked for the crowd to back him in the presidential election.
"What's the purpose of the Libertarian Party of getting 3 percent?" Trump asked the crowd. "You should nominate Trump for president only if you want to win."
He pleaded: "You should nominate me or at least vote for me. We want Libertarian votes. Don't waste your vote."
If "we unite, we are unstoppable," Trump cajoled. "You have to combine with us."
As the crowd booed he taunted: "Maybe you don't want to win. Keep getting your 3 percent every four years."
Trump tried everything: He promised to appoint Libertarians to his Cabinet and other senior roles if he makes it to the White House, and promised to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, founder of the illicit online marketplace Silk Road. Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 following his conviction on charges including money laundering and drug trafficking.
The Ulbricht horse-trade offer was reportedly a rare moment Trump drew cheers.
Each time Trump supporters in the room launched the chant "We want Trump," they were shouted down by Libertarians. Some of them shouted "swamp creature" at Trump.
After getting booed for 20 minutes Trump finally gets pissed and snaps on them. pic.twitter.com/OuB20ksmip
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 26, 2024
Trump’s speech gets drowned out by chants of “HYPOCRITE!” pic.twitter.com/8qEwK9JLl3
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) May 26, 2024
Trump LOUDLY booed when he claims how much he’s being persecuted. pic.twitter.com/a1SXftBylP
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 26, 2024
Physical fights erupted at times on the floor between Trump backers and die-hard Libertarians. On Libertarian hoisted a sign saying: MAGA = socialism.
The Libertarians are fed up with Trump because of issues including restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic and the very existence of the Federal Reserve.
"If he thinks he is going to win our nomination, he's more delusional than I thought," said Chase Oliver, one of the presidential candidates for the Libertarian Party, at a press conference after Trump spoke, Politico reported.
Another candidate, Michael Rectenwald, declared that there are "no people in this room in the Libertarian Party at risk of falling for Trump's bulls--t."
The Libertarian vote could be important to Trump. In some states in the 2020 election, the Libertarian candidate won more votes than the margin between Trump and Joe Biden, Politico noted.
Far more popular at the convention on Saturday was Robert Kennedy Jr., who frequently bashed Trump in his speech. Polls indicate that the independent presidential candidate is presenting more of a threat to Trump than to Biden.
