Trump booed and heckled at Libertarian convention

STORY: :: Donald Trump is booed and heckled at the Libertarian National Convention

:: Washington, D.C.

:: May 25, 2024

:: Libertarians blame the former president for his handling of the pandemic

(Donald Trump) “Honored to be invited here tonight as the first president in American history to address the Libertarian National Convention. A great honour. A lot of people ask why I came to speak at this libertarian convention. And, you know, it's an interesting question, isn't it? But we're going to have, but we're going to have a lot of fun. Well, in the last year, I've been indicted by the government on 91 different things. So, if I wasn't a libertarian before, I sure as hell am a libertarian now. And unlike Joe Biden, I don't throw people in jail for disagreeing with me, I don't do that.”

Trump, who was U.S. president between 2017 and 2021, denounced the administration of President Joe Biden, his challenger in the November 5 election rematch, and Biden's Democrats as being part of a "rise in left-wing fascism."

Libertarians, who believe in limited government and individual freedom, blame Trump, a Republican, for rushing through the creation of a COVID-19 vaccine when he was president and for not doing more to stop public health restrictions on the unvaccinated during the pandemic. A smaller section of the crowd, Trump supporters, cheered him.

Trump was trying to appeal to libertarians, who have more in common with Republican policy positions than Democrats on issues including taxes and the size of government, in what is expected to be a closely fought election