Trump Spoke at the Libertarian National Convention and Basically Called Them Losers & Sexual Predators

The former president faced a tough crowd at the convention over the weekend. He wound up responding to incessant booing and sneering by telling the crowd to "keep getting your 3 percent every four years."

By Kylie Cheung  |  May 28, 2024 | 12:52pm
Photo: Shutterstock Politics
Trump Spoke at the Libertarian National Convention and Basically Called Them Losers & Sexual Predators

Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump attended the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C., to seek the long-suffering third party’s nomination and support. At least one delegate nominated Trump, who attended the convention as a candidate but was disqualified as he didn’t submit the necessary forms. If he was expecting a warm welcome during his Saturday night remarks, he was likely thrown off by what happened instead: The crowd continuously booed and sneered at Trump, in sharp contrast with his rallies that are typically attended exclusively by his most shameless sycophants. And predictably enough, it didn’t take too long for Trump to hit back.

First, Trump offered favors in exchange for the party’s support—namely that he’d appoint a Libertarian to his cabinet, pardon the Libertarian-beloved founder of a website for drug dealing, and, put in some very colorful terms, repeal protections for campus sexual assault survivors: “Repeal the so-called guidance letter that turned on-campus sexual harassment allegations into de facto criminal convictions,” Trump offered. “You know all about that. Who else would do that for you?”

This particular comment quickly went viral on social media, given ongoing, not exactly unfounded jokes about Libertarians as sexual predators who hold encyclopedic knowledge of states’ varying age of consent laws and are frequently trying to lower said age of consent. If Trump is aware of this running internet joke then this is, unfortunately, extremely funny.

Still, the Libertarians didn’t seem to bite. Within about 20 minutes of ongoing booing and heckling from the crowd, Trump finally seemed to snap. “Maybe you don’t want to win. Keep getting your 3 percent every four years,” he sneered at them, in reference to the third party’s oft-unserious electoral outcomes.

At different points, Trump continued to make overtures to the crowd: “Combine with us in a partnership. We’re asking that of the Libertarians. We must work together. Combine with us. You have to combine with us,” he said. But videos of his remarks show the crowd decisively, repeatedly telling him “No!” in response—even as Trump then tells them, “You cannot give Crooked Joe Biden four more years.”

Trump is the first president in U.S. history to speak at the Libertarian National Convention, and based on the reception he received, it’s not hard to see why that is. For all the Republican Party’s “small government” posturing, the crowd that Trump addressed made it pretty clear they don’t want any government at all, and many Libertarians have long been hostile to Trump for the minuscule covid-era precautions he imposed during his presidency.

This is a political party whose members famously booed at a 2016 debate when former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson answered a question about whether he believes we need driver’s licenses to drive by saying he’d like to see “some competency exhibited” before people can get on the road. (Other Libertarian candidates guffawed at the question, to loud cheers and applause from the audience, comparing it to a requirement that we must have licenses to make toast in our own toaster ovens.)

So, this was the crowd that Trump found himself struggling to appease. After the chaotic showing, he posted on Truth Social about what a success his attempt at courting the Libertarian Party was, writing: “Everyone here tonight believes that we must fight for the same fundamental freedoms… And we believe that we do not have a FREE COUNTRY if we do not have FREE SPEECH!”

That’s not quite what we see in all the video evidence, which shows audience members loudly booing and Trump responding by telling them they’re losers—but, sure, dude!

 
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