Trump To Address Libertarian Party Convention As He Goes After Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is addressing the Libertarian National Convention on Saturday night, courting a segment of mostly conservative voters that has often been skeptical of the Republican former president while trying to ensure attendees aren’t drawn to independent White House hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Libertarian Party will pick its presidential nominee during the gathering at a Washington hotel that wraps up Sunday. Kennedy, who ran in the Democratic primary before switching to an independent bid, addressed the convention Friday but has indicated he’s not interested in being the Libertarian nominee.

Polls have shown for months that most voters — even a majority of Democrats — don’t want a 2020 rematch between Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden. That dynamic could potentially boost support for an alternative like the Libertarian nominee or Kennedy, whose bid has allies of both Biden and Trump concerned that he could be a spoiler.

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson won about 3% of the national vote in 2016, when Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in a tight race. Party nominee Jo Jorgensen got only a bit more than 1% during 2020’s exceedingly close contest between Biden and Trump.

Peter Goettler, president and chief executive of the libertarian Cato Institute, suggested in a Washington Post column published this week that Trump addressing the Libertarian convention violated the gathering’s core values and that “the political party pretending to be libertarian has transitioned to a different identity.”

A Libertarian candidate may try to draw support from disaffected Republicans, but also from people on the left who oppose perceived government overreach. Such voters could also gravitate