Former President Donald Trump addressed the Libertarian National Convention on Saturday to make an explicit appeal to libertarian voters. It did not go over well. The crowd booed Trump for the duration of the speech. There were some MAGA supporters in the room who had come in just for the speech and were not otherwise involved with the convention; when they started chanting "we want Trump," they were drowned out by more familiar libertarian cheers, such as "end the Fed."
For all of the concern that the optics of Trump's convention appearance might confuse voters nationwide, give the appearance that Libertarians are in cahoots with Trump, or erase the considerable distinctions between the Republican Party and the Libertarian Party, Trump's icy reception should actually make it even more obvious than he has not earned the support of libertarians. Indeed, at a time when the former president is making inroads with all sorts of voters and delivering speeches all over the country, people who prize individual liberty booed him louder and more consistently than any other voting bloc.
