LIBERTARIAN PARTY REJECTS RFK JR. BID FOR NOMINATION, RULES TRUMP INELIGIBLE:

The presumptive Republican nominee was booed when he told those at the Libertarian Party convention to “combine” with his campaign. He also pledged to place a Libertarian in his cabinet and senior posts. Trump received just six write-in votes in the first round of voting, and the Libertarian Party chair said the former president was ineligible to be the party’s nominee.

“We cannot give Crooked Joe Biden four more years,” Trump said, adding that the party should join forces with his campaign.

“Only do that if you want to win. If you want to lose, don’t do that. Keep getting your three percent every four years,” Trump said.

Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon that even if he were selected as the Libertarian Party’s nominee, he couldn’t accept it since he is set to be nominated by the Republican Party in July.

“Regardless, I believe I will get a Majority of the Libertarian Votes,” he added. “‘Junior’ Kennedy is a Radical Left Democrat, who’s destroyed everything he’s touched, especially in New York and New England, and in particular, as it relates to the Cost and Practicality of Energy. He’s not a Libertarian. Only a FOOL would vote for him!”

Of course, both candidates failed the libertarian test, but for different reasons: Why libertarians don’t trust RFK Jr.

RFK Jr. is himself a former Democrat, of course — and a progressive one, at that. He has a long history of energy and climate activism completely contrary to the limited government ethos of libertarianism. He previously called the National Rifle Association a “terrorist group”, although he does support the second amendment. He said the Koch brothers should be prosecuted for treason on environmentalist grounds. He also supports student loan debt forgiveness and affirmative action, both liberal stances.

Nevertheless, after RFK Jr. formally left the Democratic Party in October 2023 — opting to face-off against President Joe Biden in the general election rather than the primaries — widespread speculation ensued that he might seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination. Last summer, he attended FreedomFest, an annual gathering of libertarians, and emphasised his involvement in issues that matter to us: most notably, the federal government’s efforts to suppress dissenting speech on social media, particularly relating to Covid-19.

Indeed, RFK Jr.’s contrarian views on Covid-19 policies like mandates, lockdowns, and the vaccines themselves have made him a target of social media censors, who were often pressured by government agents to take down provocative speech. (The Supreme Court is currently weighing whether these actions violated the First Amendment in Murthy v. Missouri.) Many of the underlying views are themselves attractive to libertarians; one need not agree with everything RFK Jr. has said about vaccines to nevertheless admire his opposition to making them compulsory.

It was RFK Jr.’s opposition to mandates and lockdowns that first drew the attention of some libertarians. When I spoke with her in June 2023, McArdle was optimistic that his views on the pandemic had “stirred an awakening within him, causing him to reconsider many of his other political stances.”

Following the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel, RFK Jr. expressed unqualified support for the US continuing to send aid to Israel, a stance that alienated many libertarians, who do not believe American taxpayers should be required to fund foreign wars. Support for RFK Jr. among rank-and-file LP members now appears lukewarm at best; at a California Libertarian Party convention in February, Kennedy garnered just one vote in the straw poll.

America’s Newspaper of Record notes that Trump was rejected for yet another reason besides his policies: Trump Booed For Wearing Deodorant At Libertarian Convention.