Donald J. Trump likes to talk about his accomplishments as president, often glossing over his role in events and policies that have angered some of his supporters. And many Republicans who were once angry about, for example, his role in the Covid-19 lockdowns and rising national debt have adopted a kind of Trump amnesia in hopes of ousting President Biden from the White House.
But many libertarians have not forgotten it. And when Mr. Trump speaks at their party’s convention in Washington on Saturday evening, they want to remind him of that.
The Libertarian Party convention, perhaps befitting a group dedicated to individualism, is often a noisy affair marked by infighting as members stake out their positions.
But the party’s decision to invite Mr. Trump to give a campaign speech at an event where Libertarians are electing their own presidential candidate sparked intense outrage among some members. They say this undermines the integrity of the party and provides a platform for a candidate who is in many ways completely at odds with their beliefs.
As a result, Mr. Trump, whose campaign rallies have largely been held in friendly territory this year, could face a crowd of hostile Libertarian voters on Saturday. Many say they plan to mock him or otherwise protest his presence.
“We expected that there would be a large portion of the party that was unhappy with Donald Trump,” said Brian McWilliams, a spokesman for the Libertarian Party. Some of Mr. Trump’s policies are fundamentally at odds with the party platform, he acknowledged, and “the panel will express its displeasure with those policies.”
“We hope it will be civil,” Mr. McWilliams said, “but I doubt it will be quiet.”
One possible relief for Mr. Trump: Members of the public could get tickets to his event, Mr. McWilliams said. Red MAGA hats made their way into the event area on Saturday afternoon.
At the heart of the Libertarian Party’s platform is a belief in limited government and unfettered individual freedoms. Libertarians tend to lean right on tax issues and oppose taxes, extensive regulatory authority, and government defense spending. However, they are more liberal on social issues such as legalizing drugs and sex work, abolishing the death penalty, and limiting government interference in health and private life.
Some libertarians have found common cause with Mr. Trump: The former president frequently rails against government bureaucracy and regulation. But his support for tariffs, his promise to crack down on immigration and the huge expansion of the national debt during his time in office contradict many of the party’s positions.
Nothing compares to the ongoing outrage over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The party’s supporters report that the strictest lockdowns and mask requirements were imposed under Trump’s watch.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential candidate, criticized Mr. Trump over his handling of the pandemic in his own speech to the party on Friday afternoon.
“President Trump imposed the greatest restrictions on individual freedoms this country has ever seen,” Kennedy said to applause.
Recent polls suggest that Mr. Kennedy could withdraw support from both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden in the general election. His positions span the ideological spectrum and agree on some points with Mr. Trump and the Libertarian Party. But in his speech, Mr. Kennedy spread his anti-establishment message and spent more time attacking Mr. Trump than Mr. Biden.
During the vote on the official caucuses on Friday, one attendee shouted, using an expletive, “I’d like to suggest that we tell Donald Trump to go away.” Some in the crowd cheered in response, and a vulgar chant of Mr Trump erupted.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate who is now an outspoken supporter of Mr. Trump, was booed at least twice when he mentioned him at the party convention later on Friday.
Trump campaign advisers said Mr. Trump’s speech on Saturday will most likely highlight the overlap between his policies and those of the Libertarian Party. They see Mr. Trump’s appearance as an opportunity to win over voters who may give him a better chance of ousting Mr. Biden than would be the case with a third-party candidate.
Asked about the negative reaction to Mr. Trump at the convention, Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in a statement that Mr. Trump’s “America First agenda is the one that shares many of the concerns of libertarian voters.” He is the only candidate who can defeat Joe Biden and end Biden’s assault on our Constitution, our freedoms and our God-given rights.”
Both Democrats and Republicans have at times argued that third-party candidates hurt their chances in the last two presidential elections. 2020 Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen won 1.2 percent of the statewide vote. In Arizona, she won more than 50,000 votes. Mr. Trump lost that state to Mr. Biden by just over 10,000 votes.
Some Libertarian leaders and delegates bristled at the idea that Mr. Trump could court their vote. They called this weekend’s invitation an attempt to attract news media attention and undermine the integrity of the event and the party.
Richard Longstreth, a delegate from Tennessee, said, “We appear as a prize to be won, rather than something that can stand alone.”
And then there was the secret of the sticker.
The campaign for one of the party’s presidential candidates, Lars Mapstead, says it has spent $20,000 on ads to be placed around the lobby of the Washington Hilton, where the party’s convention is being held, including a large floor sticker that reads : “Let’s deny Trump and Biden victory on election night.”
Mr. Mapstead has been a vocal critic of Mr. Trump, particularly his role in increasing the national debt. In an interview with The New York Times on Friday, he said: “We reject everything about him.”
Daniel Johnson, an adviser to Mr. Mapstead, said a man approached him on Thursday, identified himself as a representative of the Libertarian Party and demanded that the ads be removed.
Mr. Johnson said he physically stopped the man from removing the ads after learning he was working for an event coordinator for Mr. Trump. On Friday, a video appeared to show hotel security removing the sticker from the floor.
The Trump campaign denied any involvement in the episode. A person at the Washington Hilton identified as a manager said she was unaware that ads would be removed.
Mr. Mapstead blamed the Trump campaign. “It leads to this whole rigged system,” he said. “A more powerful candidate can suppress a less powerful candidate.”
Mr. Trump has made a point this year to appear at some events that would not traditionally be on a Republican presidential candidate’s schedule, such as a rally this week in the deep blue Bronx.
Mr. Trump also traveled to a shoe convention in Philadelphia, where attendees tended to be younger and more diverse than is typical at his rallies. The crowd seemed split between boos and shouts of support.
“It’s a slightly different audience than I’m used to, but I love this audience,” he said at the time.
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2024-05-25 22:41:15
www.nytimes.com
