Trump, Lee, Ramaswamy Face Boos/Cheers at Libertarian Party Convention

Former President Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers/leaders spoke at the Libertarian National Convention over the weekend to a mixture of boos, heckles, and cheers throughout their speeches.

It was the first time in history that a current or former president spoke at the Libertarian Party’s convention. Trump and President Joe Biden were both invited to speak at the event, but only Trump accepted. Biden gave the commencement speech to West Point graduates on the same evening that Trump spoke at the convention, which ran from Friday through Sunday.

In addition to Trump, Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is campaigning for Trump, also spoke at the event.

All three candidates were cheered at times for wishing to pardon individuals like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and those convicted of the January 6th riots/protest. Additionally, the crowd would cheer for some of the specific policies and statements made during their speeches.

Additionally, Trump received praise for saying he wants the government out of the lives of its citizens, his position on keeping the U.S. out of “endless wars,” and other issues.

The loudest boos appeared to be directed at Trump or Lee and Ramaswamy’s request for Libertarians to vote for Trump.

Trump took a shot at the crowd about a third of the way through his speech when he quipped that Libertarian voters who don’t support him would be satisfied getting their 3% turnout for their own candidate. In 2020, the Libertarian Party presidential candidate received just over 1% of the popular vote, and in 2016, its candidate received just over 3% of the popular vote.

Trump also got booed by the crowd when he spoke about firearms. Trump said he was the guy for firearms, and some in the crowd started yelling “bump stocks” at him, a reference to the current ban on bump stocks that went into effect during the Trump administration. That ban is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

After Trump’s speech, videos of Trump being booed went viral on the internet. Pro-Biden X (formerly Twitter) accounts shared the videos.

One of the accounts, “Biden-Harris HQ,” shared one of the videos and said,

“A seething and unpopular Trump lashes out and belittles the audience as they boo him”

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However, the Libertarian Party Chairwoman, Angela McArdle, criticized the Biden camp for not “showing up.” She posted on X,

“You didn’t even show up. You have zero credibility.”

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Trump was not the only presidential candidate to attend the convention. Independent candidate Robbert F. Kennedy Jr. also spoke at the event and lost in the first round of the nomination process.

The Libertarian Party chose Chase Oliver as their official nominee for the 2024 presidential election.