Former US President Donald Trump suffered a rare humiliation during a raucous speech at the Libertarian Party’s national convention, where he was booed and heckled.
Trump endured a rough ride at a Washington hotel on Saturday night that included shouting “Bullshit!” Challenges to right-wing appeal.
“The truth is we shouldn’t be fighting each other,” Trump implored. “If Joe Biden returns to power, there will no longer be freedom for anyone in our country. Partner with us — we ask liberals to do that. We must work together. Join us. You must partner with us Combined.
Delegates booed, jeered and insulted, calling for them to sink like lead balloons. It was a shocking rebuke from a man so accustomed to cult-like gatherings that his every word was met with cheers.
The Libertarian Party, which prioritizes small government and individual freedoms, typically gets 3% or less of the national vote, but its members could still play a crucial role in swing states this November. Trump clumsily tried to curry favor with them, only to scold them.
When he came to power, he encountered liberals with their own factional feuds, who shouted insults and accused him of adding to the massive federal deficit and enriching pharmaceutical companies through the development of coronavirus vaccines. A small group of die-hard Trump supporters, wearing “Make America Great Again” hats and T-shirts, chanted “USA! USA!” One person unfurled a Palestinian flag.
Amid the melee, Trump has called on liberals to vote for him or join his campaign, but has been repeatedly rebuffed. Referring to the four criminal indictments against him, he joked: “If I wasn’t a liberal before, I certainly am one now.”
The former president cited an article written by political commentator Deroy Murdock arguing that liberals should vote for Trump. The crowd again erupted in boos and jeers.
Trump retorted: “Unless you want to win. As long as you want to win. Maybe you don’t want to win. Maybe you don’t want to win. Only do it if you want to win. If you want to lose, don’t do it. Keep getting every four years 3% interest.
Trump went on to argue that liberals should make him their presidential candidate, or at least vote for him in the election. There were boos and jeers again. He continued: “Liberals want to vote for me, and most of them are going to do that because we have to get rid of the worst president in history, and we’re going to work together.“
The Republican promised that if elected, he would install a liberal in his cabinet and put others in top posts. The crowd again made their dissent clear. Ever the salesman, Trump urged: “Great. This is pretty big. But this time, the old tricks don’t work.
Trump once again blamed them for getting 3% support in the past election. He was chanting and saying, “No, you want to make yourself a winner, now is the time to be a winner.” You have a lot of common sense”.
Trump continued to speak, saying he was here to “extend a hand of friendship” and work together against Biden. That prompted chants of “We want Trump!” from supporters, but more often “End the Fed!” — This is a common refrain among liberals who oppose the Fed. A man holding a sign that read “No wannabe dictators!” was dragged away by security.
The former president claimed that much of his record was liberal and cited tax cuts, slashing bureaucratic red tape, and eliminating and defunding federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs as examples. He promises to appoint liberals to task force “Promptly review every case of an unjustly persecuted political prisoner“ Joe Biden administration.
“As you all know, it was my great honor to pardon the peaceful protesters of January 6th, or as I often call them,” Trump said. “They were hostages. Never in the history of our country has a group been treated so harshly or so unfairly?” Fair play. This abuse will be corrected, and soon.
“If you vote for me on day one, I will commute Ross Ulbricht’s sentence.” Cheers and whistles erupted in the room as many people waved signs that read “Free Ross.” Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an online marketplace that sold heroin, cocaine, LSD and other illegal drugs, was sentenced to life in prison in 2015.
At this point, things have turned in Trump’s favor, and his gamble to speak at the convention is looking less disastrous than it initially seemed. The crowd gradually became quieter and more supportive.
The former president was further criticized for promising to sign an executive order barring federal agencies from censoring free speech, enacting record tax cuts, opposing the Green New Deal and oil and gas drilling, securing the future of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, and defending religious beliefs. praise.
Still, not everyone is convinced. When Trump said, “I need your support, either by nominating us for this position or by voting for us.
Later, a representative who identified himself as Joe said, “He’s full of shit.”
“There’s a lot of politics going on here,” said Mississippi Libertarian Party Chairman Glenn Lewis. “He’s here to tell us to use fear of a Biden presidency to pull people’s votes toward him. But the real men and women who vote are Upright.
Lewis, 54, a veteran who served in Afghanistan, added: “I join the crowd of Trump supporters who can’t defend him printing money. They can’t defend him giving immunity to pharmaceutical companies. If They can’t defend him without stopping the war. I won’t start any new ones in his favor, but he doesn’t end the ones there.”.
Michael Fitch, 35, a member of the Libertarian Party since 2012, said he appreciated Trump’s “bravery” in attending the convention but had no intention of voting for him. “A lot of people like Donald Trump because they think he’s a conservative, but he’s not a conservative,” he said. “He actually increased the deficit – he spent millions of dollars.
“He surrendered to the pharmaceutical regime. Obviously his base, the Maga Revolution, was very much against the lockdown, but Donald Trump was the one who implemented Operation Warp Speed. We can’t let this guy off the hook: if we’re going to catch up [Anthony] Fauci is on the same list as Biden and Trump. He is as complicit as anyone else. I don’t think his supporters fully understand that, and Donald Trump won’t tell them that.
Joe Gravagna, a 77-year-old retired computer security worker from Westfield, Indiana, said he voted for the Libertarian candidate in 2020 but may consider Trump this time. “I like his ideas about deregulation, de-weaponizing the justice system and non-intervention. He’s not much of a hawk. I don’t think he likes war. No one worth their salt would leave $88 billion worth of weapons in Afghanistan.” .
Brandi Bohannon, 37, of Gulf Shores, Ala., was one of the staunch Republicans in the room. She said: “He was different. There was no war. K Street didn’t pay him. He was honest. He had a bad temper.
“We’ve never had such open borders – what, eight million people have crossed them already? Under Trump, these wars will never happen. Russia will never invade Ukraine. Israel and Palestine will not go to war. Serbia and Bosnia look to be chasing each other again such a scary moment.
Liberals will choose their White House nominee during the convention, which ends Sunday. Trump’s appearance also gives him an opportunity to appeal to voters who might otherwise support independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who delivered his Libertarian Party convention speech on Friday.
