The Libertarian Party has just announced a surprise speaker for its National Convention, particularly given that he is their most important political opponent.
Donald Trump will address the party's convention in Washington, D.C., later in May, where members "will share a list of their top ten issues with President Trump in advance of the convention, hoping to make an impact on the policy positions of a past, and possibly future, President."
The current chair of the Libertarian National Committee, Angela Elise McArdle, said that Trump was one of the first presidential candidates to agree to address their convention.
President Trump to Address Libertarian Party Concerns at National Convention May 25th
— Libertarian Party (@LPNational) May 1, 2024
Washington, D.C., May 1, 2024 — The Libertarian National Party, the Party of Principle, announced today that President Donald J. Trump has responded to an invitation, and challenge, from the…
“For 50 years, we’ve been trying to get our candidates on the main stage with major party POTUS candidates and we’ve finally succeeded in bringing one to our stage," she said. "We will do everything in our power to use this incredible opportunity to advance the message of liberty.”
Trump, meanwhile, is clearly hoping the opportunity will help him win over some of the libertarian faithful, particularly given that the Republican Party shares more of their policy proposals than the statist Democrats.
He said in a statement:
Libertarians are some of the most independent and thoughtful thinkers in our Country, and I am honored to join them in Washington, DC, later this month.
We must all work together to help advance freedom and liberty for every American, and a second Trump Administration will achieve that goal. I look forward to speaking at the Libertarian Event, which will be attended by many of my great friends.
We all have to remember that our goal is to defeat the Worst President in the History of the United States, BY FAR, Crooked Joe Biden. If Libertarians join me and the Republican Party, where we have many Libertarian views, the election won’t even be close. We cannot have another four years of death, destruction, and incompetence. WE WILL WORK TOGETHER AND WIN!
The theme of the conference will be 'Become Ungovernable,' which the party says was chosen "following the previous years of unconscionable authoritarian actions by the United States Federal, and State governments, which saw citizens confined, indoctrinated, lied to, and inoculated against their will."
They continued:
The citizens of these United States must become ungovernable to regain their basic rights and freedoms. This year’s convention will welcome world-renowned speakers, activists, and thinkers, as well as decide the Libertarian presidential candidate for the 2024 election cycle. There is no greater collection, nor community, of freedom, liberty, and independently-minded people.
Despite Trump's presence at the event, the party is still expected to nominate its own presidential nominee. Their previous nominee, the academic Jo Jorgensen, secured 1.2 percent of the vote during the 2020 presidential election, equivalent to 1,865,535 votes.
I didn't have Trump speaking at the Libertarian National Convention on my 2024 Bingo card.
— Jo Jorgensen (@JoForLiberty) May 1, 2024
He hates me because he believes I cost him the presidency. When we polled my voters afterward, the majority said they wouldn't have voted if I wasn't on the ballot.
This is going to be an… pic.twitter.com/gA4UbxdZy3
The post ends with: "This is going to be an interesting convention. Do I need security now? Any volunteers?"
If Trump had won just a fraction of those votes, it would have been enough to tip the balance in various key states such as Georgia and Arizona.
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