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In 2016, when it nominated former GOP governors Gary Johnson and William Weld for President, the Libertarian Party positioned itself as a sensible alternative to the statist Democratic Party and the far-right MAGA GOP. It maintained that position during Trumps presidency.

Whatever libertarian impulses Trump the candidate seemed to have, the party wrote in a 2018 statement, his actual performance as president stands in stark contrast. Donald Trump is the opposite of a Libertarian.

What changed? In 2022, the right-wing Mises Caucus won control of the party, powered by frustration at the Johnson/Weld nomination (which compromised on numerous Libertarian positions) and the partys failure to capitalize on anger at COVID-19 restrictions. In her speech to the California convention this year, LP national chair Angela McArdle said that she needed to focus on creative growth and finding new allies. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.s candidacy was appealing to the sort of anti-establishment voters who often voted Libertarian and some members were pushing for him to lead the ticket.

Were going to be in a tough election year, she said. If Kennedy is on the ballot in 40 or more states as an independent, its going to really hurt Libertarian vote turnout.

Kennedy, who did not rule out seeking the LP nomination, hasnt made serious moves toward winning it since getting a single vote in that conventions straw poll. The candidates now running for the nomination arent well-known outside of the movement. Trumps decision to attend will bring star power, media attention, and very unusual for the LP intense security to the event, while dividing Libertarians, some of whom are wondering why a Republican candidate who supports tariffs, mass deportations, and state abortion limits should share their stage.

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Donald Trump courts an increasingly friendly Libertarian Party - Semafor

On Wednesday, the Libertarian Party made an eyebrow-raising announcement about its upcoming convention: the headline speaker will be Donald Trump. For the little-noticed third party, which has mostly been overshadowed this year by more prominent independent candidates, it was certainly an attention-grabber.

It is unusual, to say the least, for the presumptive Republican nominee to speak at an event which is also slated to nominate a candidate to run against him. Its also bizarre given that Trump is, by any measure, the exact opposite of an ideological libertarian. But beneath the incongruity, there is a certain logic on both sides of this odd exchange.

Trump, for his part, obviously seeks to undercut a perceived spoiler threat. In 2020, the Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen exceeded Bidens margin of victory over Trump in several swing states. Trump has also previously complained that his loss of the national popular vote in 2016 can be pinned on Gov. Gary Johnsons Libertarian bid, which set a record for the party by taking 3.2 percent of the popular vote.

Republicans have long seen the Libertarian Party as costing them winnable elections, pulling away more GOP-leaning voters with its small government message.

For its part, the Libertarian Party aint what it used to be.

Through most of its history, the L.P.s free-market fundamentalism was paired with similarly radical social liberalism, advocating an open borders immigration policy, drug legalization, and LGBT rights.

But in recent years, the party was subject to a hostile takeover. Out went the traditional live-and-let-live tolerance, to be replaced with culture warriors drawn from the fever swamps of the alt-right and its allies. So its not entirely surprising that the new management has turned the partys convention into a literal Trump rally.

Their first order of business was to delete a nearly 50-year-old platform plank condemning bigotry as irrational and repugnant.

The L.P.s internal turmoil, in and of itself, can be rather tedious and of little interest to outsiders. But the Trump campaign might end up wishing theyd taken a closer look before accepting this particular invitation. In rushing to accept the implicit endorsement, theyve put their candidate on what might be the most overtly bigoted stage of his career.

In 2017, when then-President Trump was offering his infamous take on the very fine people at the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, others were playing out a similar reaction in miniature. The Libertarian Partys leadership including its national chair at the time, attorney Nicholas Sarwarkhad emphatically denounced the chants of blood and soil and Jews will not replace us.

Within days, an organization called the Mises Caucus was founded with the purpose of expelling such woke sentiments from the party. In a sick bit of irony, they took their name from free-market economist Ludwig von Mises, an Austrian-born Jew who fled the Nazis.

The caucus began taking over state parties, packing members into sparsely attended conventions. As they did so, they quickly started attracting negative attention for saying (mostly via party Twitter accounts) things that sounded less like liberty and more like the tiki torch brigade. Examples included equating COVID vaccines to the Holocaust with yellow Star of David patches, denouncing Pride Month as degeneracy, and telling a Black politician to pick cotton and go back to Africa.

Things came to a head in 2021, when a vote to expel the New Hampshire party over such antics failed on the partys national committee. In response, most Mises Caucus opponents walked out. Joe Bishop-Henchman, a nationally respected tax policy expert whod been elected chair of the national committee in 2022, resigned in protest, writing that he would not chair a party that has knowingly and now affirmatively chosen to stay affiliated with the toxic garbage being spewed by Mises Caucus-controlled states.

A year later, the caucus took control of the national party at its 2022 convention. Their first order of business was to delete a nearly 50-year-old platform plank condemning bigotry as irrational and repugnant.

The new chair, Angela McArdle, defined the new mission as fighting wokeism. In practice, this meant saying outlandishly racist things and then playing the victim when anybody objected.

Angela McArdle at the Rage Against the War Machine rally in 2023.

The remade Libertarian Party embraced a wide range of bigotries, with a particular zeal for overt antisemitism. It also suffered a collapse in membership, revenue, and vote totals as longtime Libertarians fled.

McArdle, in an interview on Tim Pools podcast, eagerly promoted the German New Medicine conspiracy theory, which holds that Jewish doctors deliberately give white people cancer. She defended the Mises Caucus headlining a virulent Holocaust denier at its events by pivoting to praise him as a truth-seeker willing to ask why Jews control Hollywood.

The national party tweeted a version of the notorious Happy Merchant anti-semitic caricature to allege a link between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and disgraced con artist Sam Bankman-Fried, who have nothing in common other than both being Jewish. The party has long opposed foreign aid in general, but talk of Israel in particular soon leaned into the dual loyalty trope with statements such as Israel First is America Last.

This is the organization whose stage the 45th and would-be 47th President of the United States has eagerly agreed to share.

In his statement accepting the invitation, Trump praised the party as some of the most independent and thoughtful thinkers and urged them to help him defeat President Biden.

It would be fair to say, for all his controversies and own problematic statements over the years, Trump has never spoken to such an openly bigoted organization before. This is less like the very fine people comment and more like if hed showed up himself to speak at the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally. It is particularly notable at a time when Trump and his fellow Republicans have been eager to denounce alleged antisemitism on the left in context of the war in Gaza.

It might be unsurprising that a party transformed into (for all intents and purposes) a hate group would accept Trumps seal of approval. But its less clear if Trump, or his campaign staffers, knew what he was signing up for. The embrace of such an organization by a normal presidential candidate would be a major scandal.

It remains to be seen if, for Trump, it even gets noticed.

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Is the Libertarian Party Too Bigoted Even for Trump? - The Daily Beast

Former President Trump is planning to speak at the Libertarian Party’s convention in Washington, D.C., later this month, his campaign confirmed Wednesday. 

Trump will “address concerns voiced by its members” during the event May 25, the party said in a statement. The convention, which will take place May 23-26 at a D.C. hotel, is where the party will nominate its presidential ticket. 

“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,” Trump said in a statement. “We must all work together to help advance freedom and liberty for every American, and a second Trump Administration will achieve that goal.” 

The Libertarian Party said it invited both the presumptive GOP nominee and President Biden to address the convention. Biden is not slated to speak.

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who previously flirted with the possibility of being the party’s nominee, said he would not run as a Libertarian in mid-April. Kennedy attended the California Libertarian Party state convention in February.

Apart from the former president, other speakers attending the convention include cardiologist and epidemiologist Dr. Peter McCullough, comedian Dave Smith, Julian Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton, entrepreneur Robert Breedlove, and economist Mark Skousen.

Trump’s appearance will give him an opportunity to court more third-party voters as he looks to secure a win in November. 

“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 former president said. 

The convention’s four-day schedule will include events, award presentations and ultimately nominating the party’s White House ticket. In 2020, the party nominated Jo Jorgensen.

“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,” the party Chair  Angela McArdle said in a statement.

“We will do everything in our power to use this incredible opportunity to advance the message of liberty.”

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Trump to address Libertarian Party convention - The Hill

Donald Trump will speak at the Libertarian Partys convention at the Columbia District later this month signaling how worried Mr. Trump must be about third-party spoilers and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s appeal to libertarians.

Mr. Trump lost several swing states, including Arizona, Wisconsin, and Georgia, in 2020 by fewer votes than those cast for Libertarian Party candidate, Jo Jorgenson. Polls indicate the 2024 election will be as close, with third-party candidates potentially determining the winner in key swing states.

Mr. Kennedy ruled out seeking the Libertarian Partys presidential nomination just two weeks ago, but he has courted the libertarian vote since he entered the race as a Democrat one year ago. He has made the rounds of libertarian podcasts and spoke at gatherings like PorcFest, Freedom Fest, and the Libertarian Party of Californias convention at Costa Mesa in February.

The Libertarian Partys chairwoman, Angela McArdle, says she extended an invitation to speak at the partys convention to both Mr. Trump and President Biden. Mr. Trumps acceptance is a sign he is taking third-party voters seriously. Hes also likely taking a page from his former Republican primary opponent-turned-advisor, Vivek Ramaswamy, who actively courted the liberty vote.

Libertarians are some of the most independent and thoughtful thinkers in our country, and I am honored to join them in Washington DC, Mr. Trump said in a statement Wednesday. If Libertarians join me and the Republican Party, where we have many Libertarian views, the election wont even be close.

While much of the focus on third party candidates this year has centered on the threat to Mr. Biden, recent polls that show Mr. Kennedy pulling more votes from Mr. Trump are sounding alarm bells in the Trump orbit. Mr. Trump has stepped up his attacks on Mr. Kennedy, calling him a Democrat plant, far-left, and a wasted protest vote.

The announcement Wednesday that Mr. Trump will be speaking at the partys convention was greeted in typical Libertarian fashion: with fights online about MAGA infiltration of the party and debates about libertarian principle versus political relevance. In May 2022, a paleo libertarian faction called the Mises Caucus took over leadership of the party. Those who oppose them call this faction a MAGA front.

Its just confirmation that the Mises Caucus was a MAGA operation from the beginning, a former chairman of the Libertarian Party, Nicholas Sarwark, tells the Sun. The Mises Caucus is a stalking horse kind of operation to assist Donald Trump in not losing the 2024 presidential election in the same way he lost the 2020 presidential election.

You cant be an independent political party and kiss the ass of one of the other two, Mr. Sarwark says. Thats why the Greens have collapsed, he says of the Green Party.

If libertarians are to succeed at moving politics in a more liberty-oriented direction, then we must build our own brand as far away from Donald Trump as possible, a former Republican-turned-Libertarian congressman, Justin Amash, who is now running for the United States Senate from Michigan as a Republican, posted to X.

If Donald Trump comes to our convention, he will be met with a chorus of boos, a Libertarian Party presidential candidate, Chase Oliver, tells the Sun.

Ms. McArdle, though, says party members should take Mr. Trump coming to speak to them as a win and a way to bring the message of liberty to a wider audience. She said the same about Mr. Kennedy when he courted the party.

For 50 years, weve been trying to get our candidates on the main stage with major party POTUS candidates and weve finally succeeded in bringing one to our stage, Ms. McArdle said in a statement.

Is this a secret plot to make Trump our candidate? No. Are our candidates doing a head to head debate with him? No. They are doing their debate first, then he is speaking. (Take the W.), Ms. McArdle posted to X.

I know there are some libertarians who have a severe allergy to relevance, but it is undeniably a great thing that Trump is speaking at the Libertarian Party National Convention, comedian and podcaster, Dave Smith, posted to X. This isnt an endorsement of Trump, its an endorsement of relevance and a desire to engage with the real world.

If the LP is actually able to create a Libertarians vs. Trump moment, it would be an absolute W. Theres a huge vacuum of intelligence on the right, as well as a vacuum of opposition to Trump on the right, and it would be great to have the LP be in that space, a Libertarian Party of New Hampshire delegate, Jeremy Kauffman, tells the Sun.

Libertarians are such open-minded people, he adds, that well even discuss our ideas with far-left gun-grabbing money-printing pro-lockdown socialists like Donald Trump.

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Trump, Wooing Libertarian Voters, Agrees To Speak at Party's Convention as Concern Waxes on the Right Over RFK Jr. - The New York Sun

Former Republican President, and presumptive GOP nominee, Donald Trump will speak at the Libertarian Party presidential nominating convention later this month.

Trump will address the top 10 concerns of Libertarian national delegates who may ask him to defend past policy decisions and explain how a second Trump administration would align with Libertarian principles of limited government, free markets and non-aggression in foreign policy and personal interactions.

Libertarians are some of the most independent and thoughtful thinkers in our Country, and I am honored to join them in Washington, D.C., later this month, Trump said in a statement released Wednesday by the Libertarian Party. 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 wont even be close. We cannot have another four years of death, destruction, and incompetence. WE WILL WORK TOGETHER AND WIN!

Libertarian National Committee chair Angela McArdle told the Deseret News the event will attract unprecedented levels of media coverage to the Libertarian Party and will give Libertarians an opportunity to influence the Republican Party standard-bearer.

For 50 years weve been trying to get our candidates on the main stage with major party POTUS candidates and its never happened. ... And so we finally succeeded in bringing one of the major candidates to our stage, McArdle said. This is a huge opportunity for us. ... Theres no downside.

But many within the party fear the decision to associate libertarianism with a political figure who does not espouse its principles will taint public perception of libertarian policies and will serve only to help Trump remove an electoral obstacle.

I think its ridiculous, said Barry Short, chair of the Utah Libertarian Party, in an interview with the Deseret News. Theres nothing in his track record thats appealing to Libertarians.

Short pointed to the former presidents response to COVID-19 allowing lockdowns, elevating Anthony Fauci and encouraging mass vaccination as well as his proclivity for spending increasing deficit spending by trillions while in office as evidence that Trump has nothing to offer Libertarians.

A Trump keynote speech is totally a money move, according to Short. Since the Libertarian Partys national leadership was replaced by members of the controversial Mises Caucus in 2022, the party has faced historic fundraising shortfalls, Short said. Bringing Trump on stage even if that means platforming an opposing party could mean an influx of attention for an organization that has historically existed on the fringe of American politics.

This reeks of desperation to me, Short said.

Desperate though it may be, Short said it could have a long-lasting effect on the future direction of the party. But that direction could be toward increased irrelevance if Libertarian voters cast their ballot for Trump instead of the Libertarian nominee, or their ideas become conflated with the anti-establishment rhetoric of Trump and other populist candidates like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

This is the intended outcome of the planned Trump speech, according to Joshua Eakle, a longtime Libertarian political operative and founder of the Project Liberal PAC. There is evidence Trump blames Libertarians for his 2020 loss in key swing states, Eakle alleged in a post on X, and since the Mises Caucus takeover, Libertarian Party messaging has become more extreme and friendly toward some Trump talking points.

Asking Trump to headline their presidential nomination event, including selling Trump-themed merchandise, further supports the influence of Trump on the Libertarian Party, Eakle said.

This speech is engineered to pull Libertarian Party support from their own party and and get them to support the opposition, Eakle said. The Libertarian Party will effectively be over at that point in the minds of the public. It will be an extension of MAGA authoritarianism. I dont see any upside to this at all I see the upside for Trump. But I dont see the upside for the Libertarian Party.

Brian Doherty, senior editor at the libertarian Reason magazine, said the quote Trump gave to the Libertarian Party explicitly states that Trumps goal in being there is to ... win votes for himself. So that kind of speaks for itself.

Dohertys colleague at Reason, Liz Wolfe, said even if the speech does attract media attention to Libertarians, that wont necessarily be a good thing.

I think what will happen is the word libertarian will increasingly be associated with RFK Jr. and Donald Trump. And these are two celebrity politicians who, as far as I understand it, do not really stand for libertarian values, Wolfe said.

McArdle, who was elected to chair the national party as part of the Mises-Caucus wave in 2022, pushed back, saying Trumps appearance will not serve as a typical stump speech.

We need to be moving the Overton window in the direction of liberty. We need to be exposing people to the ideas of libertarianism, that is why the party was founded. And if we have the opportunity to influence a potential future president were gonna do it, McArdle said.

President Joe Biden was also invited to speak at the partys national convention but has not agreed to do so.

At the Libertarian national convention, delegates from across the country, including 14 from Utah, will select a presidential nominee from a crowded field of over 30 candidates.

Trump will not participate in the debate Theres no talk about him becoming our nominee, McArdle said. Instead, he will take the stage immediately after Libertarian Party hopefuls argue over which is the most viable candidate to bring libertarian ideas to the White House.

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Donald Trump speaking at Libertarian national convention Deseret News - Deseret News