‘Maybe You Don’t Want to Win’

Former President Donald Trump told Libertarian National Convention delegates that “maybe they don’t want to win” as he was met with boos when asking for the party’s support during an unprecedented speech Saturday night.

Trump, the first former president to address the Libertarian convention in its 50-year history, consistently asked delegates for their vote in the general election during his speech. He also told the party’s members that they should choose him as their presidential nominee when they make their pick on Sunday.

“But only do that if you want to win. If you want to lose, don’t do that,” Trump smiled and said to the crowd at the Washington Hilton. “Maybe you don’t want to win. Keep getting your three to four percent [in the general election] every year.”

Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson won about 3% of the popular vote in 2016. However, nominee Jo Jorgensen only received just over 1% during 2020’s contest.

The presumptive Republican nominee told the crowd, if elected as president in November, that he would appoint Libertarians to his “cabinet and senior posts.”

“Pretty good,” Trump said as he scanned the room, seemingly trying to coax the crowd in his favor.

But even that bold promise was met with loud, mixed reviews as Trump supporters in the crowd were mostly drowned out — throughout the speech — by the skeptical Libertarian delegates, who prioritize small government and individual freedoms.

Trump received his biggest cheer of the night when he promised to commute the sentence of deep web market mastermind, Ross Ulbricht, who is currently serving a life sentence for the illegal marketplace, “Silk Road,” which people used to buy and sell drugs, among other illegal goods and services.

Many of the delegates carried and held up signs that read “Free Ross.”

Other signs poked at Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, reading “No wannabe dictators!” and “MAGA = Socialist.” According to the Associated Press, the person who held up the “No wannabe dictators!” sign was eventually taken away by security.

Trump’s campaign told the Associated Press that his appearance at the convention was intended to court voters who might otherwise support independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who addressed the Libertarian convention on Friday.

Polls continue to show that most voters do not want a 2020 rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden. That could potentially boost support for an alternative like the Libertarian nominee or Kennedy.

Libertarian National Chair Angela McArdle said before introducing Trump that Biden was also invited to speak at the convention but declined.

In an emailed statement to Newsweek Saturday night, Jason Miller, senior advisor to the Trump campaign, said they “absolutely” knew “that it’s not exactly home base” for the Republican front-runner.

“There will be people who want him to be there and people who don’t want him to be there, but we’re on offense and competing for non-traditional votes in order to unite the country,” Miller said. “President Trump is going to get credit for showing up and making clear he wants to earn votes from members of the Libertarian Party and people who view themselves as being more libertarian minded.”

Newsweek reached out to the Biden campaign, along with the Libertarian Party, for comment via email Saturday night. This story will be updated with any provided statements.

Throughout his speech on Saturday, Trump looked to appeal to Libertarian voters.

He told the crowd that he would abolish the Department of Education and the “deep state.” He insisted that he would stand for Second Amendment rights.

He even told the estimated crowd of 1,000 at the Washington Hilton at the beginning of his speech that he, himself, was a Libertarian due to his criminal trials that are being prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

Trump told the crowd that he’d come “to extend a hand of friendship” in common opposition to Biden. That led to a chant of “We want Trump!” from his supporters, who were drowned out by boos and chants of “End the Fed!” — a phrase often used by Libertarians who oppose the Federal Reserve.

Many social media posts were puzzled that the former president agreed to give a speech outside of his MAGA confines.

Libertarian Jaime Ortiz, a convention attendee, wrote on Instagram, “I don’t know what Trump was thinking coming to our convention. I could tell he was frustrated. He’s never had a crowd of people like us. He absolutely deserved all of that hate for being a warmonger, the [COVID] lockdown policies, not ending the deep state, printing trillions, and being just an overall liar. He absolutely will not get any votes from us.”

Earlier Saturday, the Kennedy campaign reportedly handed out rubber chickens to attendees of the convention ahead of Trump’s speech.

The squawking rubber chickens had “Debate Bobby” written on them and are presumably intended to heckle and mock the presumptive Republican nominee as he looks to court right-leaning libertarian voters.

The Libertarian convention speeches come on the heels of the Trump and Biden campaigns agreeing to a series of debates leading up to the November election. Since then, Kennedy and his supporters, along with advocacy groups, have made their case for inclusion in the debates, but so far, to no avail.

CNN’s Kate Sullivan reported Saturday night that Secret Service agents were confiscating the rubber chickens before attendees entered Trump’s speech.

“No lighters, no water bottles, no noisy chickens,” one agent yelled out to people in line, Sullivan posted on X.

Update: 5/25/2024, 11:36 p.m.: This story has been updated with additional information.