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�No wannabe dictators!�: Donald Trump booed at Libertarian convention

Trump, the former US president, has suffered the rare humiliation of
getting booed and heckled during a raucous speech to the Libertarian
National Convention.

Trump�s rocky ride at a Washington hotel on Saturday night, including cries
of �Bullshit!� and �Fuck you!�, underlined the challenge that the
Republican presidential nominee faces to broaden his appeal both left and
right on the political spectrum.

�The fact is we should not be fighting each other,� Trump pleaded. �If Joe
Biden gets back in, there will be no more liberty for anyone in our
country. Combine with us in a partnership � we�re asking that of the
libertarians. We must work together. Combine with us. You have to combine
with us.�
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The appeal went down like a lead balloon as delegates booed, jeered and
shouted insults. It was a stunning rebuke for a man who has become
accustomed to cult-like rallies where his every word is cheered to the
echo.

The Libertarian party, which prioritises small government and individual
freedoms, typically gains 3% or less of the national vote but its members
could yet prove crucial in swing states this November. Trump�s clumsy
attempt to court them resulted in him scolding them instead.

Taking the stage, he was confronted by Libertarians, who have their own
factional disputes, shouting insults and decrying him for running up huge
federal deficits and enriching pharmaceutical companies with the
coronavirus vaccine development. A smaller core of diehard Trump supporters
clad in �Make America great again� hats and T-shirts chanted �USA! USA!�.
One person unfurled a Palestinian flag.
A Libertarian party member shouts protests as Republican presidential
candidate Donald Trump addresses the Libertarian National Convention in
Washington.
A Libertarian party member shouts protests as Republican presidential
candidate Donald Trump addresses the Libertarian National Convention in
Washington. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Amid this melee, Trump�s appeal to Libertarians to vote for him or join his
campaign were repeatedly rebuffed. Referring to the four criminal
indictments against him, he joked: �If I wasn�t a libertarian before, I
sure as hell am a libertarian now.�

The ex-president quoted an article written by political commentator Deroy
Murdock arguing that Libertarians should vote for Trump. The crowd again
erupted in boos and jeers.

Trump retorted: �Only if you want to win. Only if you want to win. Maybe
you don�t want to win. Maybe you don�t want to win. Only do that if you
want to win. If you want to lose, don�t do that. Keep getting your 3% every
four years.�

Trump went on to argue that Libertarians should make him their presidential
nominee or at least vote for him in the election. Again there were boos and
wails of derision. He went on: �The Libertarians want to vote for me and
most of them will because we have to get rid of the worst president in
history and together we will.�

The Republican promised that, if elected, he would put a Libertarian in his
cabinet and others in senior posts. Again the crowd made clear its dissent.
Ever the salesman, Trump prodded: �Pretty good. That�s pretty big.� But
this time the old tricks did not work.

Again Trump chided them for getting 3% in past elections. Competing with
chants, he said: �No, you want to make yourself winners, it�s time to be
winners. You have a lot of common sense.�

Trump pressed on with his speech, saying he�d 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 Federal Reserve. One person who
held up a sign reading �No wannabe dictators!� was dragged away by
security.

The ex-president claimed that much of his record was libertarian, citing
examples such as tax cuts, slashing bureaucratic red tape, cancelling and
defunding federal diversity, equity and inclusion programmes. He promised
to appoint Libertarians to a taskforce to �rapidly review the cases of
every political prisoner who has been unjustly persecuted� by Joe Biden�s
administration.

Trump said: �As everyone knows, it will be my great honour to pardon the
peaceful January 6 protesters or, as I often call them, the hostages.
They�re hostages. There has never been a group of people treated so harshly
or unfairly in our country�s history. This abuse will be rectified and it
will be rectified very quickly.�

�And if you vote for me on day one I will commute the sentence of Ross
Ulbricht.� The room, where many had been waving �Free Ross� signs, erupted
in roars and whistles of approval. Ulbricht was the founder of Silk Road,
an online marketplace for the sale of heroin, cocaine, LSD and other
illegal drugs, who in 2015 was sentenced to life in prison.

With that the tide had turned in Trump�s favour and his gamble of
addressing the convention was looking less disastrous than it first
appeared. The crowd gradually became more muted and supportive.

The ex-president received further acclaim for pledging to sign an executive
order banning federal agencies from censoring free speech, introduce record
tax cuts, oppose the Green New Deal and drill for oil and gas, secure the
future of crypto and bitcoin currencies and defend religious liberty and
gun rights.

Still, not everyone was won over. When Trump said, �I want your support and
again, you can either nominate us and put us in the position or give us
your vote,� a chorus of boos rose again.

Afterwards one delegate, who gave his name only as Joe, said: �He�s full of
shit.�

Glen Lewis, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Mississippi, said: �It was
a lot of politicking. He came here to tell us to pull our people�s votes
towards him using the fear of Joe Biden�s presidency. But real men and
women vote on integrity.�

Lewis, 54, a military veteran who served in Afghanistan, added: �I went
into the group of Trump supporters who could not defend him printing money.
They could not defend him giving immunity to the pharmaceutical companies.
They could not defend him not stopping wars. I will benefit him with not
starting any new ones, but he did not end the ones that were there.�

Michael Fitch, 35, who has been a member of the Libertarian Party since
2012, said he appreciated Trump�s �bravery� in coming to the convention but
has no intention of voting for him. �A lot of people like Donald Trump
because they think he�s a conservative but he�s not a conservative,� he
said. �He actually raised the deficit � he spent millions and millions of
dollars.

�He capitulated to the pharma regime. Obviously his base, the Maga
revolution, is very anti-lockdown but Donald Trump was the one who did
Operation Warp Speed. We can�t let this guy off the hook: if we�re gonna
come after [Anthony] Fauci and Biden, Trump�s on the same list. He�s just
as complicit as the rest of them. I don�t think his base fully appreciates
that and Donald Trump isn�t going to be the one to tell them it.�

Joe Gravagna, 77, a retired computer security worker from Westfield,
Indiana, said he voted the Libertarian candidate in 2020 but might consider
Trump this time. �I like his ideas on deregulation, de-weaponising the
justice system and non-intervention. He�s less of a hawk. I don�t think he
likes wars. Anybody worth their salt would not have left Afghanistan with
$88bn worth of weapons left behind.�

Among the committed Republicans in the room was Brandi Bohannon, 37, from
Gulf Shores, Alabama. She said: �He�s different. No wars. He doesn�t get
paid off by K Street. He�s honest. He�s feisty.

�We�ve never had a border this open ever � what, 8m have crossed? These
wars would have never happened under Trump. Russia would never have invaded
Ukraine. Israel and Palestine wouldn�t have gone to war. Serbia and Bosnia
look like they�re about to go after each other again. So scary times.�

Subject	Author
No wannabe dictators! : Fat Feeble Moron Trump booed at Libertarian convention	Grocj
Re: No wannabe dictators! : Fat Feeble Moron Trump booed at Libertarian conventi	Ubiquitous
Re: No wannabe dictators! : Fat Feeble Moron Trump booed at Libertarian conventi	Brennus
Re: No wannabe dictators! : Fat Feeble Moron Trump booed at Libertarian conventi	Robert

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