Former US president Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing the Libertarian Party National Convention on Saturday night, with many in the crowd shouting insults and decrying him for things such as his COVID-19 policies, running up towering federal deficits and lying about his political record.
When he took the stage, many jeered while some supporters clad in “Make America Great” hats and T-shirts cheered and chanted “USA.”
It was a rare moment of Trump coming face-to-face with open detractors, which is highly unusual for someone accustomed to staging rallies in front of ever-adoring crowds.
Photo: Reuters
Libertarians, who prioritize small government and individual freedoms, are often skeptical of Trump, and his invitation to address the convention has divided the party.
Trump tried to make light of that by referring to the four criminal indictments against him.
“If I wasn’t a Libertarian before, I sure as hell am a Libertarian now,” he joked.
Trump tried to praise “fierce champions of freedom in this room” and called US President Joe Biden a “tyrant” and the “worst president in the history of the United States,” prompting some in the audience to scream back: “That’s you.”
As the insults continued, Trump eventually hit back.
“You don’t want to win,” he said, adding that some Libertarians want to “keep getting your 3 percent every four years.”
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson won about 3 percent of the national vote in 2016.
Libertarians were to pick their White House nominee during their convention, which wrapped up on yesterday.
Trump’s appearance also gave him a chance to court voters who might otherwise support independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr who gave his own Libertarian convention speech on Friday.
Polls have shown for months that most voters do not want a 2020 rematch between Trump and Biden. That dynamic could potentially boost support for an alternative such as the Libertarian nominee or Kennedy, whose candidacy has allies of Biden and Trump concerned that he could be a spoiler.
Despite the raucous atmosphere, Trump continued to press on with his speech, saying he had come “to extend a hand of friendship” in common opposition to Biden.
That prompted a chant of “We want Trump” from supporters, but more cries of “End the Fed” — a common refrain from Libertarians who oppose the US Federal Reserve.
One person who held up a sign reading “No wannabe dictators” was dragged away by security.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS