Libertarians or not? Trump serves up a conundrum for third-party voters

On Saturday, the Libertarian Party’s convention in Washington will welcome a decidedly non-Libertarian speaker: Donald Trump, presumed Republican nominee for president.

His speech to the right-leaning third party will be a historic one, as no current or former president has ever been granted a speaking slot at the party’s convention, nor has Donald Trump seemingly attended a Libertarian event or convention. Yet here we are.

The odd relationship being forged between Mr Trump’s campaign and the Libertarians presents several opportunities for both the GOP politician and the “ungovernable” Libertarians — as well as potential pitfalls for the two groups.

Let’s start with the obvious. The 2024 election, according to all available polling, is set to be close. Both candidates are making clear efforts to stem the losses they could suffer from disgruntled voters on the political margins. Joe Biden and the Democrats are working to ice out Robert F Kennedy Jr — who spoke at the convention on Friday — as well as convince younger Democrats furious with the slaughter in Gaza from staying home or giving away their votes to the Green Party. Mr Trump is doing the same tonight with the Libertarians and Mr Kennedy in one fell swoop.

Then there’s the value tonight presents for the Libertarians. Long suffering from a reputation of unseriousness, tonight is the party’s chance to reshape that image while carving a new one: an audience to whom conservative candidates can (or should) be making overtures.

But the potential for problems is real for both involved as well. Mr Trump runs the risk of walking into an outright hostile audience. Several attendees who spoke to The Independent on Friday remarked that the former president may well face a