Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the Libertarian Party’s national convention on Saturday night in an attempt to garner support from activists skeptical of the Republican front-runner and to alienate them from independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Libertarian National Convention is being held at the Washington Hilton Hotel with the tagline “Becoming ungovernable.”
The Trump campaign said the rally was part of an ongoing effort to reach out to potential supporters in areas that are less Republican. For example, Trump held a rally in the Bronx on Thursday during a break in his hush-money trial in New York. The campaign expected some to turn out against Trump at the convention, but hopes he will be praised for attending and fighting for votes.
The Libertarian Party will choose its candidate for the White House at a convention in Washington that concludes Sunday. Kennedy, who originally ran in the Democratic primary, spoke at the party’s convention on Friday.
Former President Donald Trump held a rally Thursday in New York City’s historically Democratic neighborhood of the South Bronx. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
Many attendees wore MAGA hats. The convention was dotted with booths promoting mutual aid organizations, libertarian comic books and libertarian-themed food and drink. Another booth sold T-shirts that read, “Fuck Vaccines.”
The Libertarian Party has regularly invited both Republican and Democratic candidates to speak, but this weekend marked the first time the invitation was accepted.
Tensions had been building up leading up to Trump’s appearance: Once the doors opened, the president’s supporters streamed into the convention hall and occupied an area reserved for Libertarian Party delegates, prompting Libertarian Party National Chair Angela McArdle to plead for civility.
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One attendee, former lawyer William Jeniskavich, walked between the aisles handing out signs that read “Free Ross,” a reference to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road, who was arrested in 2013 and remains in prison.
Trump considered intervening to secure Ulbricht’s release while he was president, but ultimately decided not to grant him a pardon.
Polls have shown for months that most voters, even a majority of Democrats, do not want a rematch between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. That trend could spur support for alternative candidates like Libertarian Party candidates and Kennedy, who worry that Biden and allies of Trump could undermine the race.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a voter rally at The Hangar at Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, Colorado, on May 19. (Ellen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
One attendee told Fox News Digital that the party was “divided in a way.”
“Some are unwilling and infuriated by Republicans being involved in the party,” he said. “Another faction believes it’s important for the press to keep an eye on the Libertarian Party and discuss grievances like voting rights.”
Tiffany Cianci, a kindergarten music teacher and political TikTok creator who was at the event to record the speech for her online followers, told Fox News Digital that she expected to face disruption from the crowd during Trump’s speech.
Hundreds of participants were seen carrying rubber chickens capable of producing a loud, sustained noise.”[American Values 2024] “After the idea was hatched, regular convention-goers started buying them in bulk and everyone started showing up,” she said.
“They are not here to stop Trump from speaking, but to let him know that they feel strongly that avoiding a debate with a candidate and denying the American people a choice is an act of cowardice.”
Attendees at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C., hold signs reading “Free Ross” for Ross Ulbricht, founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road. Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and remains in prison. (Timothy Nerozzi/Fox News Digital)
Sitting in the front row was Manga Ananthatamal, the Republican candidate for Virginia’s 10th congressional district, who is supported by the MAGA caucus and said she came specifically to see Trump.
“I think their fiscal conservatism, their small government, is what’s best,” Anantathamulu told Fox News Digital. “That’s part of the values we have to work with the Libertarian Party.”
Before Trump began his speech, libertarian representatives endorsed various themes they wanted to hear him address, such as freeing imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and promoting “peace, not war.” Other themes they wanted to hear overlapped with more traditional Republican slogans, such as “abolishing the deep state” and “defending the Second Amendment.”
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Trump had previously praised Kennedy and even considered appointing him to a committee on vaccine safety, but has now changed his tune, suggesting on social media that a vote for Kennedy would be a “wasted protest vote” and that he would “pick Biden over Biden Jr.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
