Former President Donald Trump faced relentless boos and jeers during his speech at the Libertarian Party’s national convention on Saturday, especially when he implored attendees to “nominate me or at least vote for me.”
The hostility began as soon as Trump took the stage. The angry yells from the audience were so persistent that a chant of “we want Trump!” by some of his supporters was roundly drowned out by the enraged response.
“You should nominate me or at least vote for me so we can win together,” Trump declared. “The Libertarians want to vote for me … because we have to get rid of the worst president in history.”
Trump’s claim that he had put everything “on the line” to defend freedom met with more boos. He was jeered when he suggested his criminal trials, prosecuted by the Department of Justice, made him a Libertarian by default. Boos grew louder when he twice proposed that the Libertarian Party should nominate him.
Trump LOUDLY booed when he claims how much he’s being persecuted. pic.twitter.com/a1SXftBylP
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 26, 2024
But the loudest, most furious jeers erupted when Trump resorted to outright taunting his audience.
“The Libertarian Party should nominate Trump for president,” he declared in third-person, prompting more boos.
“Maybe you don’t want to win. Only do that if you want to win,” Trump quipped over the jeers. “If you want to lose, don’t do that. Keep getting three percent every four years.”
Trump just bodied the nerds booing him at the libertarian convention lmao
"Maybe you don't want to win … keep getting your 3 percent every four years"
pic.twitter.com/16J6GsMQRd— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) May 26, 2024
After 34 minutes of relentless boos, Trump stormed off the stage. The Libertarian Party will select its presidential nominee on Sunday.
Trump’s appearance at the Libertarian convention, a rare move for a presumptive Republican nominee, highlights his campaign’s anxiety over third-party candidates. This outreach follows weeks of attacks on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose independent bid is seen as a significant threat in a closely contested election.
The Trump campaign acknowledged the mixed reception, with spokesman Jason Miller saying, “We know it’s not home base. But we’re competing for nontraditional votes to unite the country.”
