Believe it or not, we are now a decade removed from the summer of 2016.
If you’re a liberal, you’re probably used to thinking back to these halcyon days, when everyone was talking about Pokémon Go and a Hillary Clinton victory was in the bag. If you’re reading this site, you’ve probably moved on — and rightly so.
But anniversaries warrant nostalgia, this one in particular. Because even if you cheered Donald Trump’s victory, you can’t deny that the home stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign was wild.
It’s okay if you forgot — a lot has happened since. So here, in no particular order, are the seven craziest moments from the 2016 presidential campaign.
&nbsp;
<h3>“What Is Aleppo?”</h3>
Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson never really had a chance at the White House. But there was a brief moment where many fooled themselves into believing Americans might elect the good-natured Libertarian Party nominee.
That changed in the early hours of September 8, 2016, when “Morning Joe” panelist Mike Barnicle <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/gary-johnson-aleppo-227873" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked Johnson</a> what he would do about Aleppo, the destroyed Syrian city that became an epicenter of the migration crisis during that country&#8217;s civil war in the 2010s.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-hrAVCAwTl0?si=543f0HJm0NI6ItD4" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
“And what is Aleppo?” a visibly perplexed Johnson asked.
“You’re kidding,” the equally shocked MSNBC host replied.
Upon being told what Aleppo was, Johnson confidently offered his solution — work with Russia to sort things out. It really was a different time.
&nbsp;
<h3>The Libertarian Debate</h3>
Speaking of libertarians, they really had a moment in 2016. They had a number of debates, including two at their nominating convention. There, things got … interesting.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZITP93pqtdQ?si=oWcxR3BRKPV2_wem" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The question from the audience: should you need a license to drive a car? The response from the candidates: absolutely deranged.
“Hell no!” shouts one. “What’s next, requiring a license to make toast in your own damn toaster?!” roared another, in the midst of what appears to be some kind of rheumatic fit.
Only Johnson had the gall to defend drivers’ licenses, a sin for which he was roundly booed by the presumably unwashed crowd.
&nbsp;
<h3>Carly Fiorina Singing</h3>
Ted Cruz, in a last-ditch effort to save his campaign, announced to the world that, if elected, he would tap former HP executive and Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina as his running mate.
It was a real Hail Mary, likely doomed to fail. But what little chance the gambit had of succeeding died moments after it was announced, murdered by Fiorina’s decision to sing at the rally.
I’m not kidding when I say I remember exactly where I was when I saw this clip for the first time, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it for a decade. I still don’t know what to make of it, or how to describe it. Please, just watch the clip. Join me.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ergqF8S2cNo?si=pqf3qiWD3Rly3vIT" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h3>Jeb Bush’s $75 Guacamole Bowl</h3>
There are three defining moments of Jeb Bush’s campaign: the Jeb! signs, the original Trump nickname (“low energy Jeb”) and the infamous clip of Bush asking a crowd to “please clap,” an unanswered plea that seemed to confirm Trump’s read on the former Florida governor.
Bush almost certainly wasn’t thrilled about these moments at the time, but he may be grateful that they overshadowed another swing and miss. I’m talking about the Guaca Bowl-E.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1145385" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.51.07-PM-991x576.png" alt="" width="991" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.51.07-PM-991x576.png 991w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.51.07-PM-300x174.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.51.07-PM-768x446.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.51.07-PM.png 1514w" sizes=" (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 991px" /></div>
For $75, Jebutantes could purchase an unmarked stone guacamole bowl from the campaign website. That’s right — unmarked. Just a bowl.
“Jeb and Columba love whipping up guacamole on Sunday Funday,” read the description on the campaign website. “Now, you can get in on the action with this “Guaca Bowle.” Jeb’s secret guacamole recipe not included … yet.”
Please clap.
&nbsp;
<h3>Jim Webb Killed A Guy</h3>
Remember Jim Webb? It’s okay, me neither. He was Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan and Senator from Virginia before Tim Kaine. He was also, if you can believe it, a Democratic presidential candidate in 2016.
It’s a shame no one remembers his campaign, because it was honestly kind of based. He criticized Obamacare. He said “all lives matter.” And, during one of the Democratic primary debates, he casually mentioned that he killed a guy in &#8216;Nam.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t48MyL5QdAc?si=Oqjiiv0jQ2yuActg&amp;start=70" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
At the end of the debate, CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked the candidates which enemies they were the most proud of making. Hillary gave an early version of her later “basket of deplorables” comment, which didn’t get much traction at the time — likely because, I cannot stress enough, Jim Webb talked about killing a guy.
“I would have to say the enemy soldier that threw the grenade that wounded me but he’s not around right now to talk to,” said Webb.
If you want to know more about the incident, you can <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/jim-webb-fiction-119116/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read the short story</a> Webb published on it in Politico. I wish I was kidding.
&nbsp;
<h3>Martin O’Malley’s Campaign Announcement</h3>
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Se-H0tiKNf8?si=9DFQtzw4GArFboZO" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Oh my God, he plays the guitar?! Can’t believe he didn’t get the nomination.
There’s really nothing else to say about Martin O’Malley, who dropped out after getting less than one percent of votes at the Iowa Caucus and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/social-security-head-drank-with-union-members-before-giving-them-telework-through-2029?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Social+Security+Head+Drank+With+Union+Members+Before+Giving+Them+Telework+Through+2029" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went on to do corruption</a> as head of the Social Security Administration under Joe Biden. He was like watered-down Howard Dean? His two biggest endorsements in 2016 were Eric Swalwell and the Dropkick Murphys? Who cares.
&nbsp;
<h3>The Last Funny Political SNL Sketch</h3>
Let me be clear: I’m not saying this sketch is unbiased, or that it’s laugh-out-loud funny all the time. But watch this and tell me it’s not funnier than any political sketch Saturday Night Live has put out since.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-nQGBZQrtT0?si=-4QIleAGrYt1P1pQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
It’s embarrassing for them, really, because it shows that they can make fun of their chosen candidate when they’re certain they’re going to win. Alec Baldwin’s first appearance as Trump is exaggerated, of course, but pretty funny — not moralizing, still fresh, and the bit about kissing Sean Hannity is great.
But more importantly, they make fun of Hillary! They make fun of her for being unlikable, phony, and power hungry. They make fun of her arrogance and overly-rehearsed debate performance and awkward attempts to be relatable. It’s insane that just a month after this aired, Kate McKinnon sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” in the show’s least funny cold open ever. It’s all been downhill from there.
&nbsp;
<h3>BONUS: Normie Trump</h3>
<a href="https://mashable.com/article/donald-trump-slicked-back-hairstyle" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1145389" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.53.28-PM-1022x576.png" alt="" width="1022" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.53.28-PM-1022x576.png 1022w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.53.28-PM-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.53.28-PM-768x433.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.53.28-PM-1536x865.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-28-at-12.53.28-PM.png 1860w" sizes=" (max-width: 1022px) 100vw, 1022px" /></a>
To be fair, this was in 2019. But it’s so crazy it feels like it should have been from 2016.

Final Presidential Debate Between Hillary Clinton And Donald Trump Held In Las Vegas

10-Year Reunion: The 7 Craziest Things You Forgot From The 2016 Presidential Campaign

2016

2016 Election

Donald Trump

Gary Johnson

Hillary Clinton

Libertarian Party

Martin O'Malley

Ted Cruz

Buckley vs. Vidal. Frost Vs. Nixon.
Smith vs. Murray?
Everyone is still talking about the extended debate between Libertarian comic Dave Smith and author Douglas Murray on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
The Spotify superstar set the chat in motion, knowing the two had extremely different views that would make for a compelling exchange. It’s a sad sign of the times when a debate between two well-meaning adults is increasingly rare in pop culture.
The chat did more than let both pundits share their views. It reminded Rogan of an old saw that Uncle Ben taught a budding web-slinger long ago.
With great power comes great responsibility.
<div id="attachment_909815" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah6kirkSwTg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-909815" class="size-large wp-image-909815" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-23-PM-2662-1024x576.jpg" alt="Screenshot: Joe Rogan Experience #2303. Dave Smith and Douglas Murray. PowerfulJRE. YouTube.com" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-23-PM-2662-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-23-PM-2662-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-23-PM-2662-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-23-PM-2662-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-23-PM-2662-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>Screenshot: Joe Rogan Experience #2303. Dave Smith and Douglas Murray. PowerfulJRE. YouTube.com</div>
The underlying message in the chat? Rogan’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah6kirkSwTg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hugely popular show</a> has been letting some cranks share his podcast microphone. That might not have mattered a few years ago, but now “The Joe Rogan Experience” has the power to shape the political landscape.
Many pundits suggest Donald Trump’s appearance on the show, along with Kamala Harris’ unwillingness to do the same, played a role in the real estate mogul’s victory.
Letting “historians” in Rogan’s studio who resist that label, spread erroneous facts, and refuse to take on their critics, may not be the best way to flex his podcast muscle.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-rogan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rogan</a> has played podcast footsie with conspiracy monger Alex Jones for some time. Now, he’s expanding that practice to the format’s detriment. Think Ian Carroll and Darryl Cooper as two recent examples.
The latter called Winston Churchill, <a href="https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/cooper-koureas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“The chief villain of World War II.”</a>
“I feel you’ve opened the door to quite a lot of people who now got a big platform, who have been throwing out counter-historical stuff of a very dangerous kind,” Murray said early in the conversation. “These guys are not historians. They’re not knowledgeable about anything.”
“I just think, ‘I’d like to talk to that person.&#8217;” Rogan said of his guest choice.
The far-Left Hollywood Reporter, sensing a weakness in Rogan’s podcasting armor, called the podcaster’s recent tilt, “Dangerous.” That’s overstating it, but <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/joe-rogan-douglas-murray-podcast-1236192416/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it’s neither healthy nor helpful.</a>
A week later, Darryl Cooper arrived to perform his act, which can be described as offering outrageous provocations he then half walks back so he can repeat them all again tomorrow. In September, Cooper had appeared on Tucker Carlson’s podcast to say that Churchill was the real villain in World War II and that Nazis didn’t want to kill Jews in concentration camps; Jews only “ended up dead” because Germany didn’t have the resources to take care of them.
Murray and Smith didn’t name call or insult one another during the often-tense exchange. Rogan proved an avuncular host, trying to keep the parties on an even keel. The two sparred over foreign policy, the Ukraine war, and, most passionately, the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Murray’s silky-smooth delivery and impeccable grasp of the facts mattered. Smith brought an Everyman’s perspective to the party, often appearing overmatched in the dustup.
<div id="attachment_909817" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-909817" class="size-large wp-image-909817" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-13-PM-5832-1024x576.jpg" alt="Screenshot: Joe Rogan Experience #2303. Dave Smith and Douglas Murray. PowerfulJRE. YouTube.com" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-13-PM-5832-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-13-PM-5832-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-13-PM-5832-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-13-PM-5832-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-13-PM-5832-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Screenshot: Joe Rogan Experience #2303. Dave Smith and Douglas Murray. PowerfulJRE. YouTube.com</div>
Who “won” depends partly on who you were rooting for prior to the exchange. Both landed some blows, from Murray detailing the horrors of October 7 to Smith sharing the devastation in Gaza from the extended conflict.
It’s increasingly rare to watch these kinds of debates play out on the pop culture landscape. Hollywood’s near total domination by the Left means there’s little appetite for these healthy exchanges. 
Consider today’s late-night hosts. They all sing from the same progressive hymnal and invite progressive guests on to nod along with the audience. The host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” just raged against President Donald Trump in a Rolling Stone interview. Here’s part of his <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/jimmy-kimmel-trump-late-night-future-interview-1235315906/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jeremiad against all things GOP</a>.
&#8220;There’s no decency. It’s just a bunch of animals [emphasis added], and it’s disgusting… I mean, on the Fourth of July, I still put up a flag, and I’m never going to stop doing that, because I’m never going to let them have that symbol.&#8221;
Does that sound like someone willing to host a free and fair debate on his platform? Why can’t Kimmel invite someone like Dr. Jordan Peterson or Greg Gutfeld on his show for a civil conversation? It would make for compelling TV and might boost the show’s ratings.
Plus, audiences might take away something valuable from it beyond demonizing those with whom they disagree. It’s increasingly clear folks on the Left aren’t interested in that kind of exchange.
There is an exception, though. Classical liberal Bill Maher, both on his HBO talk show and “Club Random” podcast, routinely invites Right-leaning guests to talk out their differences. Think Dave Rubin, Kid Rock, and actor Zachary Levi, to name just three.
<div id="attachment_909819" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-909819" class="size-large wp-image-909819" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-36-PM-7260-1024x576.jpg" alt="Screenshot: YouTube/Club Random Podcast. " width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-36-PM-7260-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-36-PM-7260-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-36-PM-7260-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-36-PM-7260-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-36-PM-7260-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Screenshot: YouTube/Club Random Podcast.</div>
Rogan probably didn’t like to hear someone like Murray, well-regarded in many circles, dressing him down on his own show. He needed to hear it all the same. It’s reminiscent of another pivotal moment from the show’s past.
Rogan invited then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on his show for what appeared to be a tepid chat that let Dorsey slink away from his platform’s censorious ways. Rogan got an earful from his fans who felt he had let the CEO off too easily. So he invited Dorsey back on the show, but brought backup.
He added journalist gadfly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZCBRHOg3PQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tim Pool to the conversation</a>. Pool brought some unflattering receipts, and the exchange proved far more illuminating than the first interview.
Perhaps Rogan needed a reminder of why his show matters and the consequences of having one of the biggest podcasts in the country.
Uncle Ben would be proud if he took that lesson seriously.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-07-PM-2073

Joe Rogan’s Smith-Murray Debate Shows The Power And Risk Of Platforming

comedian

Conservatives

Debate

Douglas Murray

Entertainment

Joe Rogan

Podcast

Pro-Israel

Pro-Palestinian

Spotify

Ukraine-Russia War

Winston Churchill

World War II

YouTube

In an endorsement that could prove pivotal in New Hampshire, the state&#8217;s Libertarian Party endorsed former President Donald Trump.
New Hampshire has four electoral votes; those could prove decisive if there is a closely contested vote in the presidential election. In the RealClearPolitics polling <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/president/general/2024/new-hampshire/trump-vs-harris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">average</a>, Harris has a 3.5-point advantage. According to the New Hampshire <a href="//D1C3E52E-290A-4C37-B1BF-A7ADC649117F/v" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Secretary of State,</a> as of September 30, Republicans have 308,223 registered voters, while Democrats have 268,943. The state will likely be decided by the 318,221 undeclared voters.
“Donald Trump is officially endorsed by the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire for President,” the party’s announcement began. “This was not a light decision. But we feel it is the right one for ourselves, for our children, and for the best future of a Free State of New Hampshire. Donald Trump is not a libertarian. Nonetheless, Trump is the best candidate for libertarians.”
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
The announcement then continued by issuing a list of the reasons they favored Trump, then continued, “Trump promises much and we are skeptical of promises from politicians. However, we know for certain what the Democrat alternative is: more socialism, more censorship, more taxes, more authoritarianism.”
After urging their supporters not to vote for the Libertarian presidential candidate on the ballot, they declared, “The barbarians are at the gates. We must make sure that New Hampshire continues to repel progressives, socialists, communists, and leftists of all stripes. New Hampshire being the only red state in a blue New England helps achieve that goal. For these reasons and more, the most popular Libertarian state affiliate in the country is endorsing Donald Trump for President. Now get out there and vote!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
LPNH Endorses Donald Trump for President
Donald Trump is officially endorsed by the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire for President.
This was not a light decision. But we feel it is the right one for ourselves, for our children, and for the best future of a Free State of New… <a href="https://t.co/Sg6t4XhxCr">pic.twitter.com/Sg6t4XhxCr</a>
&mdash; Libertarian Party NH 🦔 (@LPNH) <a href="https://twitter.com/LPNH/status/1853616374267965550?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
New Hampshire has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 2000, although Trump lost an incredibly close contest in 2016, losing by less than a percentage point to Hillary Clinton. In that election, 6.72% of the vote went to third-party candidates.

US-POLITICS-VOTE-TRUMP

New Hampshire’s Libertarian Party Endorses Trump

2024 Election

Elections

Kamala Harris

New Hampshire

Politics

When cable news channels announced the results of the 2016 election, for the most part, they <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/2016-election-results-trump-projected-win-georgia-43406399" target="_blank" rel="noopener">displayed</a> the vote totals for the two major party candidates side-by-side: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. They simply left out the Libertarian Party ticket, which was led by Gary Johnson. It was as if Gary Johnson didn&#8217;t exist.
In a normal election year, that wouldn&#8217;t be a very notable omission. Outside of Ross Perot&#8217;s run in 1992, third-party candidates don&#8217;t exactly put up very big numbers on Election Night, so they&#8217;re not worth talking about. That&#8217;s been especially true for Libertarian Party candidates, who are mostly known for taking off their shirts at conventions and debating the merits of driver&#8217;s licenses.
But in 2016, it was a very different story. Libertarians had their best-ever showing in a presidential race, racking up nearly four-and-a-half million votes. In eleven states, the Libertarian Party vote total exceeded the margin of victory — meaning, you can make a case that Libertarians affected the outcome of the 2016 presidential election by siphoning votes from Hillary Clinton. You don&#8217;t hear that discussed very often — it&#8217;s a lot easier for Democrats to blame Russia. But it&#8217;s true.
Eight years later, once again, there are signs that libertarians might have a relatively strong showing in the upcoming election. Polls show that most Americans are ambivalent about this presidential race — in part because both candidates have already served as president, so there&#8217;s not as much enthusiasm as there normally is. That gives an opening to third-party candidates to attract new support.
Both the Trump campaign and the Biden campaign understand this dynamic very well. They&#8217;re looking at the same poll numbers. But only Trump has decided to appeal to these Libertarian voters directly. On Saturday night, Trump spoke at the Libertarian Party&#8217;s national nominating convention in the nation&#8217;s capital — becoming the first former president to ever do so.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1376-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h4>
The speech marked another moment of stark contrast between Trump and Joe Biden, who would never walk into a venue where he knew that a large portion of the audience would oppose him. We&#8217;re at the point where Joe Biden isn&#8217;t even allowed to give press conferences anymore, much less deliver speeches before a hostile crowd. But Trump had no problem facing his detractors at the convention, who (as predicted) heckled him at various points during his address.
That was the side of the story the media ran with. There were dozens of headlines about how Trump was booed and jeered at the convention. But there were quite a few Trump supporters in attendance as well, and there were several moments where the Libertarians in attendance were clearly on Trump&#8217;s side.
That makes sense, because Trump didn&#8217;t deliver his typical stump speech. Instead, he tailored his remarks for a libertarian audience — hitting topics like lower taxes, cryptocurrency, reducing the size of the federal government, keeping America out of foreign wars, and so on. Trump even promised to commute the sentence of libertarian hero Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the defunct dark web marketplace &#8220;Silk Road.&#8221; Ulbricht is serving a life sentence for facilitating the sale of narcotics, but Trump said he&#8217;d let him out of prison on day one of his second term. Trump made a host of other promises, as well, including a vow to appoint libertarians to his Cabinet. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="005 Trump For Libertarian 1ff" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BMu6yzYE0EU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
As you could hear during some of those clips, the crowd reaction was mixed at some points and very positive at other points. It was a lot more interesting than the traditional stump speech, and the response was unpredictable at points.
But for their part, the media pretended it was an unmitigated disaster. NBC News <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/trial-is-taking-its-toll-trump-booed-and-heckled-at-libertarian-national-convention-211700293677" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran</a> this headline: &#8220;Trial taking its toll: Trump booed and heckled at Libertarian National Convention. &#8220;The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/25/trump-loudly-heckled-libertarian-national-convention/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, &#8220;Trump loudly heckled at Libertarian National Convention.&#8221; Politico reported that Trump had been &#8220;jeered,&#8221; and CNN said he was &#8220;loudly booed.&#8221; And on and on.
As you just saw from the clips I played, this is obviously a total misrepresentation of what happened. The media desperately does not want the Trump campaign bringing in new voters from the Libertarian side, so they&#8217;re lying. The so-called &#8220;defenders of democracy&#8221; want to shame a presidential candidate for reaching out to people who disagree with him.
But the truth is that, even when there was booing during Trump&#8217;s speech, it didn&#8217;t always relate to what Trump was saying. There was, as others have pointed out, the equivalent of a &#8220;Jerry Springer&#8221; episode occurring in the crowd at one point as Trump spoke. Apparently a Libertarian delegate by the name of &#8220;Starchild&#8221; was holding up a sign calling Trump a dictator. And then security dragged him away for some reason, and Starchild&#8217;s associates weren&#8217;t pleased by this development. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="006 Protestor At Trump Speech" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yfbgEiCbUKU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;These fascists don&#8217;t get to kick out Starchild! Free Starchild!&#8221; Presumably that&#8217;s Starchild&#8217;s father, Star, but it&#8217;s hard to say. Meanwhile Starchild&#8217;s wig falls off as he&#8217;s dragged away, while a very confused Secret Service agent looks on.
Is this what Ludwig Von Mises had in mind back in the day? Probably not. But it&#8217;s the state of the Libertarian Party in America right now. And if nothing else, it&#8217;s entertaining. 
During his speech, Trump apparently recognized that, and he had some fun at the party&#8217;s expense. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="007 Deroy Murdock 1" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TzIkngnmhzk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Again, this is something Joe Biden wouldn&#8217;t have the balls (or the brainpower) to do. It certainly wasn&#8217;t written in the teleprompter to taunt libertarians to their faces, at their own convention, about the fact that pretty much no one votes for them. That&#8217;s not the kind of outreach that any campaign advisor would have come up with. But it was both honest and hilarious, which is why it works.
Libertarians (except for Starchild, maybe) are under no illusions that they&#8217;re going to win the White House. What Trump is doing is something the Left normally excels at, which is transactional politics. He&#8217;s basically saying, &#8220;Vote for me, even though you don&#8217;t like me, and I&#8217;ll give you more than the other party will.&#8221; We can assume Trump isn&#8217;t passionate about Ross Ulbricht, for example. But he knows the crowd is, so he says he&#8217;ll get him out of prison.
In that context, it makes sense for Trump to embrace the adversarial relationship he has with the crowd. Trump knew going into the convention that he wasn&#8217;t going to win the Libertarian Party&#8217;s nomination. Instead, his plan was simply to present a viable alternative to the Libertarian Party&#8217;s eventual nominee.
And in that respect, Trump&#8217;s speech succeeded more than he probably even thought possible. It now appears very likely that Trump will indeed win a very large share of the Libertarian Party vote. That&#8217;s because on Sunday — after Trump was determined to be ineligible for their party&#8217;s nomination — Libertarians nominated an HR <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/11/georgia-senate-race-chase-oliver-profile" target="_blank" rel="noopener">representative</a> named Chase Oliver to be their presidential nominee.
Already, right away, this is a win for Trump, because no one in their right mind would ever want an HR representative in the White House. It&#8217;s probably the least sympathetic and appealing profession for a politician that you can imagine. But it gets even worse once you start looking at what Chase Oliver believes. For example, earlier this year, Oliver shot a video at the southern border. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="008 Migrants Just Want Work 1" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oBKP-S0WBtM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
According to Oliver, the United States has no right to enforce its borders against anyone. We have to be open to illegal migrants as well as hostile invading armies, presumably, because otherwise we&#8217;re basically erecting another Berlin Wall. Never mind that the Berlin Wall was intended to lock people inside and prevent them from escaping, while the southern border wall is intended to keep foreigners from entering the country. That&#8217;s not important to Chase Oliver. The point, in his mind, is that walls are always bad. Except, presumably, the walls that form his own home, and keep intruders out.
In that video, Oliver also lies and claims that illegals don&#8217;t use more welfare benefits than American citizens, which is just completely made up. As the Center for Immigration Studies has <a href="https://cis.org/Camarota/NPR-Falsely-Claims-High-Immigrant-Welfare-Use-Myth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a>, &#8220;In 2018, 49 percent of households headed by all immigrants — naturalized citizens, legal residents, and illegal immigrants — used at least one major welfare program, compared to 32 percent of households headed by the native-born.&#8221;
So this guy doesn&#8217;t understand the impact of open borders on the economy, but he wants open borders anyway. This is one of the least-popular positions a politician can have right now, but the Libertarian Party just picked a candidate who firmly believes in unrestricted illegal migration.
As it happens, Chase is also a big supporter of pretty much every other Left-wing agenda item. He doesn&#8217;t want the government to prevent adults from getting naked in front of kids, for instance. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="010 Oliver Okay With Drag 1" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u1yewEXAtiw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Oliver goes on to say that he doesn&#8217;t prefer to see nudity at Pride parades, where children are attending — but only because it&#8217;s not &#8220;helpful&#8221; to the message of the parade, in his view. He doesn&#8217;t think it should be prohibited. 
Then the interviewer asks a few follow-up questions about drag shows for children. And once again, Oliver pretends that there&#8217;s nothing sexual about these shows. We&#8217;ve all seen the footage of these shows, and what kids are forced to watch. But apparently Chase Oliver hasn&#8217;t. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="009 Chase Oliver Okays Public Nudity" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2GKmHQMceEU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
As the joke goes, the Libertarians wanted Ron Paul but they got RuPaul instead. 
But it&#8217;s actually disturbing to listen to his reasoning. He compares the Wiggles — the kids&#8217; music group — to grown men with a fetish for wearing women&#8217;s clothing. And he says he has no problem leaving children alone with these grown men. Parents, he says, always know best — and if parents want to leave their children with these people, then who are we to disagree? His only defense is that these drag performers are engaging in &#8220;performance art.&#8221; Therefore, we have to accept it.
Once again, it just so happens that Chase&#8217;s position comports perfectly with mainstream Democratic Party orthodoxy. And there&#8217;s plenty more where that came from. Chase Oliver has also voiced his support for banning Donald Trump from social media, as well as for vaccine mandates (as long as they&#8217;re implemented by private companies and not the government). He also supports legislation that would overrule the Supreme Court on abortion.
<h4><a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a></h4>
So to recap: The Libertarians nominated a Leftist, essentially. They&#8217;ve picked a Pride-flag waving progressive who supports open borders, has no problem with nudity at Pride parades, loves seeing kids alone at drag queen story hours, supports vaccine mandates for millions of Americans, and also supports abortion on the grounds of &#8220;bodily autonomy.&#8221; This is pretty much the DNC&#8217;s platform, word for word.
It&#8217;s yet more evidence that libertarians are just pot-scented Democrats. They fundamentally agree with Democrats on most things because libertarians and leftists both subscribe to a consent-based morality where anything is okay as long as the people involved choose to do it. And they both make exceptions even to that flimsy moral framework when it comes to children — who are often exposed to drag queens and public nudity without their consent, especially in cities controlled by Democrats. Chase Oliver wouldn&#8217;t be remotely out of place as a Democrat on San Francisco&#8217;s city council.
Then again, Republicans are also just Democrats driving the speed limit, to use Michael Malice&#8217;s phrase. Both parties agree on major issues like funding foreign wars, and they both tolerate open borders. What this means is that there really is no true political alternative to Leftism, at least not right now. Even the &#8220;third party&#8221; doesn&#8217;t really provide it, as Chase Oliver demonstrates.
During his appearance on Saturday night at the Libertarian&#8217;s convention, to the dismay of Starchild, Donald Trump didn&#8217;t promise his audience everything they wanted. But Trump did demonstrate that he&#8217;s willing to break with the Republican Party establishment to win over voters who have been ignored for decades. He made it clear that he&#8217;s willing to make promises that Mitch McConnell won&#8217;t be happy about, in order to secure more votes and political power. Is that a tactic we normally see from the Right? Absolutely not. But ultimately, especially in this election year, it&#8217;s what building a viable alternative to Leftism will require.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Trump’s Showdown At The Libertarian Convention

Trump's Showdown At The Libertarian Convention

Drag Queen story hour

Libertarianism

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Readers Pass

Libertarians voted on Sunday against selecting independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the 2024 presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party, and ruled former President Donald Trump ineligible.
Despite urging from Trump for Libertarians to rally behind him, and RFK Jr.&#8217;s bid to be selected as the party&#8217;s nominee, Libertarians selected Chase Oliver, a former Georgia Senate hopeful whose candidacy helped push the contentious 2022 Georgia Senate election to a runoff, POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/26/libertarians-reject-trump-rfk-chase-oliver-presidential-nominee-00160040" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The Libertarian Party vote came after Trump spoke at the party&#8217;s convention on Saturday, asking Libertarians to support his bid for a second term in the White House.
The presumptive Republican nominee was booed when he told those at the Libertarian Party convention to &#8220;combine&#8221; 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&#8217;s nominee.
“We cannot give Crooked Joe Biden four more years,&#8221; Trump said, adding that the party should join forces with his campaign.
&#8220;Only do that if you want to win. If you want to lose, don&#8217;t do that. Keep getting your three percent every four years,&#8221; Trump said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Trump just bodied the nerds booing him at the libertarian convention lmao
&#8220;Maybe you don&#8217;t want to win &#8230; keep getting your 3 percent every four years&#8221; 
<a href="https://t.co/16J6GsMQRd">pic.twitter.com/16J6GsMQRd</a>
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) <a href="https://twitter.com/_johnnymaga/status/1794533877308158444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112509356997089896" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon that even if he were selected as the Libertarian Party&#8217;s nominee, he couldn&#8217;t accept it since he is set to be nominated by the Republican Party in July.
&#8220;Regardless, I believe I will get a Majority of the Libertarian Votes,&#8221; he added. &#8220;&#8216;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!&#8221;
Kennedy, who dropped out of the Democratic primary to run as an independent, also spoke at the Libertarian Party convention and was on the ballot for the nomination. He was eliminated in the first round of voting on Sunday after receiving just 2% of the vote from the delegates, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4687237-rfk-jr-eliminated-in-first-round-of-libertarian-partys-presidential-nomination-vote/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The independent candidate&#8217;s loss at the Libertarian Party convention comes as he seeks to gain access to ballots across the country before the 2024 election.
Oliver won the nomination after seven rounds of voting, clearing the required 50% threshold over his final opponent being &#8220;none of the above,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/libertarians-select-chase-oliver-presidential-nominee-little-support-shown-trump-rfk-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Past social media posts from Oliver <a href="https://x.com/search?lang=en&amp;q=trans%20kids%20(from%3AChaseForLiberty)&amp;src=typed_query" target="_blank" rel="noopener">show</a> that he opposes Republican legislation that stops boys from competing in girls&#8217; sports. Oliver has also <a href="https://x.com/search?q=open%20border%20(from%3AChaseForLiberty)&amp;src=typed_query&amp;f=top" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that he supports an &#8220;open border&#8221; and has called to &#8220;abolish ICE.&#8221;
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
The Libertarian nominee won 2% of the vote in the 2022 Georgia Senate election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican candidate Herschel Walker, which pushed the election to a runoff that Warnock ultimately won.
&#8220;I will continue to bring a hopeful and positive message of liberty to both those who consider themselves libertarian and those who don&#8217;t know they are libertarian yet,&#8221; Oliver said in his Sunday victory speech.
Libertarian candidates usually receive around 1% of the vote in presidential elections. Gary Johnson received an unusually high number of votes in 2016 when he took 3% of the national vote.

Libertarian Convention

Libertarian Party Rejects RFK Jr. Bid For Nomination, Rules Trump Ineligible

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> urged Libertarian Party members on Saturday to support his campaign in the 2024 election this November.
During his remarks at the Libertarian Convention in Washington, D.C., which drew some boos from people in the audience, Trump said he was asking for a &#8220;partnership&#8221; to defeat President Joe Biden.
&#8220;Combine with us — you have to combine with us,&#8221; Trump said, eliciting some boos from people in the audience. &#8220;We cannot give Crooked Joe Biden four more years.&#8221;
Trump urged the Libertarian Party to nominate him, suggesting they would be stuck getting up to 3% support in the election otherwise. He also pledged to “put a Libertarian in my Cabinet” and in senior posts.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Trump just bodied the nerds booing him at the libertarian convention lmao 
&quot;Maybe you don&#39;t want to win &#8230; keep getting your 3 percent every four years&quot; <a href="https://t.co/16J6GsMQRd">pic.twitter.com/16J6GsMQRd</a>
&mdash; johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) <a href="https://twitter.com/_johnnymaga/status/1794533877308158444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Although much of the media coverage focused on the jeering Trump faced, at least one of his allies in Congress said that sentiment did not reflect most of the people who showed up at the convention.
&#8220;Lots of what appeared to be paid agitators at the libertarian convention tonight,&#8221; Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1794544356009136238" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post to X on his personal account.
&#8220;From what I could tell, the overwhelming share of the actual libertarians in attendance were enthusiastic and supportive of Trump. Thanks to the leadership of the Libertarian Party!&#8221; Lee added.
Trump spoke for about 33 minutes, making several promises if he is re-elected to the White House.
He vowed to <a href="https://x.com/alx/status/1794536061575766172" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commute</a> the sentence of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht — who was given <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/nyregion/ross-ulbricht-creator-of-silk-road-website-is-sentenced-to-life-in-prison.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">life in prison</a> over an illicit drugs and goods website — and put together a special task force to review and eventually pardon January 6 prisoners.
Appealing to the Libertarian base, Trump talked about restraining big government and protecting <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1794538587200819543" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;American sovereignty</a>&#8221; from global forces. The former president said he would fight for the <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1794531369365676372" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;fundamental freedoms&#8221;</a> of expression, religion, owning a firearm, and not being over-taxed.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Trump additionally condemned <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1794530726194360344" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marxism</a>, expressing the view that it is an &#8220;evil doctrine straight from the ashes of hell&#8221; and saying, &#8220;Teaching it to our children is considered, to us, child abuse.&#8221;
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy also spoke at the convention.

Trump Libertarian Convention

Trump Seeks ‘Partnership’ At Libertarian Convention

Independent presidential candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/robert-f-kennedy-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a> says he is open to joining with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/libertarian-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Libertarian Party</a> as he races to get on the ballot in all 50 states before the November election.
CNN&#8217;s Michael Smerconish pressed Kennedy during an interview that aired on Saturday whether it was possible that he would seek to be the Libertarian candidate as it would assure him of getting on the ballot across the board.
&#8220;That&#8217;s something that we&#8217;re looking at. We have a really good relationship with Libertarian Party,&#8221; Kennedy said, adding that he expects to speak at the California Libertarian Party convention in the coming weeks and may also deliver remarks in New York.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Bobby Kennedy Jr is talking to the Libertarian Party about being its 2024 presidential candidate. 
&quot;We are talking to the Libertarian Party, and I feel very comfortable with most of the values of the Libertarian Party.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/S2LmmlXE1a">pic.twitter.com/S2LmmlXE1a</a>
&mdash; Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) <a href="https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1751361103387611532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Kennedy also voiced optimism in regards to his signature-gathering campaign and said his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/16/us/politics/rfk-jr-we-the-people-ballots.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently-announced effort</a> to file paperwork to establish a new political party in several states, including North Carolina and Texas, gives him &#8220;an advantage&#8221; in lowering the threshold for ballot access.
The nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy initially entered the 2024 contest seeking the Democratic Party&#8217;s nomination, but he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-jr-switches-to-running-for-president-as-an-independent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">switched</a> to an independent run after raising complaints about how the Democrats have conducted their election process, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-challengers-rage-over-lack-of-2024-dem-debates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including a lack of debates</a>.
Some polls show Kennedy <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/latest-polls/general-election" target="_blank" rel="noopener">getting double-digit support</a> in a match-up against President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, which comes as surveys find voters <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=voters+trump+biden+rematch+polls&amp;oq=voters+trump+biden+rematch+polls&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg8MgYIAhBFGEDSAQg1NTkxajBqN6gCALACAA&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are not enthusiastic</a> about a 2020 rematch.
Smerconish played audio of Angela McArdle, the head of the Libertarian Party, talking positively on his radio show about Kennedy.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;We&#8217;ve had a lot of good conversations and we&#8217;re on good terms. And I respect his decision to want to go independent. Though libertarians really admire the strong position he took against mandates and lockdowns, and so we&#8217;re going to stay on friendly terms and see what happens,&#8221; she said.
The host urged Kennedy to &#8220;make some news&#8221; as he posited that McArdle appeared to be welcoming him to ask for the Libertarian Party&#8217;s ballot position.
&#8220;Yea. Well, we are talking to the Libertarian Party and I feel very comfortable with most of the values of Libertarian Party. And you know, we — like I say, we have good relationships. I&#8217;m talking regularly to Libertarian groups. So, we&#8217;ll continue to do those talks,&#8221; Kennedy said. &#8220;I can&#8217;t give you a headline news story today, Michael. I&#8217;m sorry.&#8221;

RFK Jr. Open To Libertarian Party Run

The official Twitter account for the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire took a beating on Friday for suggesting that people should celebrate the death of the late Senator <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/biden-claims-he-never-said-anything-negative-about-john-mccain-he-lied/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John McCain</a> (R-AZ) as they would any other holiday.
The account posted a photo from the late senator&#8217;s funeral — with his daughter Meghan McCain standing beside the casket in tears — and added just two words by way of a caption: &#8220;Happy Holidays.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Happy Holidays <a href="https://t.co/ueTMW3Dgcj">pic.twitter.com/ueTMW3Dgcj</a>
&mdash; Libertarian Party NH 🦔 (@LPNH) <a href="https://twitter.com/LPNH/status/1562886932815704065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Meghan McCain responded to the tweet with several thoughts — first taking aim at Twitter ostensibly for allowing such a hateful tweet to remain posted on the platform. &#8220;This is hideous &#8211; even by Twitter&#8217;s standards,&#8221; she <a href="https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1562995539100110848" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
She then turned on the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, saying, &#8220;This is the official twitter account of the state of New Hampshire&#8217;s Libertarian political party. I really fear for the future of the world and how we have come to treat each other — especially on social media. I hope no one ever does anything like this to any of you.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is the official twitter account of the state of New Hampshire’s Libertarian political party.
I really fear for the future of the world and how we have come to treat each other &#8211; especially on social media. 
I hope no one ever does anything like this to any of you. <a href="https://t.co/ioIjq3kxv0">https://t.co/ioIjq3kxv0</a>
&mdash; Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) <a href="https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1562996928383557634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I’m actually sadly used to this type of thing &#8211; my public grief and pain have become something comedians make YouTube videos about as ‘comedy.’ The worst part is what this does for other people in severe pain and grief &#8211; god forbid anyone displays it publicly and its documented,&#8221; she <a href="https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1562998084904550401" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
She concluded with a series of posts addressing the photo itself — and anyone else who might be feeling the same kind of pain that was documented there. &#8220;This photo is the most pain I’ve ever been in — physically, emotionally — worse than any moment of childbirth. I thought it was going to kill me. But I didn’t and it made me the woman I am today. I’m made of steel. To anyone who feels like I did here, it passes, I truly promise,&#8221; she <a href="https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1562999270051295232" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1563000663574884352" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adding</a>, &#8220;I promise anyone who is in the horrific, iron gripped jaws of grief — with time it gets softer and less intense. That’s it for tonight but I’m just not going to be harassed for being sad at my dads casket or let anyone else feel ashamed of their pain. The world deserves better.&#8221;
Utah Congressional candidate January Walker <a href="https://twitter.com/UtahPolitician/status/1563215826441814016" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>, &#8220;Politics is cruel, but there’s no reason to perpetuate cruelty against each other.&#8221;
&#8220;This is classless, cruel, subhuman garbage What the f*** is wrong with you?&#8221; Army veteran Alex Plitsas <a href="https://twitter.com/alexplitsas/status/1563174666436739074" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a>.
Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamKinzinger/status/1563170496749129738" target="_blank" rel="noopener">didn&#8217;t hold back</a> either: &#8220;This is why the libertarian party gets 1 percent. They have no soul it seems. Good luck pretending your twitter was hacked, Satan club.&#8221;

Senate Armed Services Chairman Levin Discusses Defense Dep’t Authorization

New Hampshire Libertarians Dragged For Calling John McCain’s Death A ‘Holiday’

New Hampshire Libertarians Dragged For Calling John McCain's Death A 'Holiday'

John McCain

Meghan McCain

Libertarian presidential nominee Jo Jorgensen announced Friday that she would skip out on a campaign bus tour stop Saturday morning in order to get a rabies vaccine after she was bitten by a wild bat a few days earlier.
Jorgensen, a psychology lecturer at Clemson University who secured the party’s presidential nomination back in May, made the announcement on Twitter and said she was receiving the rabies vaccine as a precaution on the advice of her doctor.
“I will not be able to attend the campaign rally tomorrow morning. I will be getting a rabies vaccine as a precaution after having been bitten by a bat near the start of this campaign tour,” said Jorgensen.
The presidential candidate also added that she would still be able to speak at an event in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, later in the day and that she was simply “pausing for a few hours” to get the rabies shot.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8230;the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetHerSpeak?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetHerSpeak</a> rally in Hattiesburg later in the afternoon.
The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetHerSpeak?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetHerSpeak</a> convoy to Hattiesburg is on time, and is scheduled to depart at 2 PM.
— Jo Jorgensen (@Jorgensen4POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jorgensen4POTUS/status/1291889337760722944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
After political analyst Jeff Greenfield commented that “the Libertarian presidential nominee was bitten by a rabid bat” — and said “sometimes, it’s best to let the facts speak for themselves” —  Jorgensen retorted that the bat was not actually carrying rabies.
“I agree, we should let the facts speak for themselves. The fact is, it wasn&#8217;t rabid,” said Jorgensen, who said in a different tweet that she was looking for her cat outside when the bat bit her. She also said she found the cat.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I agree, we should let the facts speak for themselves.
The fact is, it wasn&#8217;t rabid. <a href="https://t.co/8GklXwNvT4">https://t.co/8GklXwNvT4</a>
— Jo Jorgensen (@Jorgensen4POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jorgensen4POTUS/status/1291914207772934149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
Jorgensen, who was the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential nominee in 1996, secured the nomination after Congressman Justin Amash (L-MI) decided against running for the presidency. Her running mate, an activist and podcaster named Spike Cohen, wrote prior to being selected for the position that he, “as an individual candidate,” has a policy preference for anarchism, according to the libertarian publication <a href="https://reason.com/2020/05/24/libertarian-party-picks-spike-cohen-as-its-vice-presidential-candidate/#comments">Reason Magazine</a>.
Asked about the viability of a third-party candidate in a general election, Jorgensen told <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?473680-5/washington-journal-jo-jorgensen-discusses-libertarian-platform">C-Span</a> back in July that “I think the only wasted vote is one for Trump or Biden, because they’re going to give us more of what we don’t want.”
“If you want higher taxes, if you want more bungling in government, if you want to keep the troops all over the world, if you want more pollution, if you want more expensive health care, then by all means, vote for Trump and Biden,” she said.
In the 2016 general election, former Governor and Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson won roughly 3.28% of the national vote, according to <a href="https://reason.com/2017/01/07/did-the-libertarian-party-blow/">Reason</a> Magazine. His running mate was Bill Weld, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts.

Jo Jorgensen, the 2020 presidential nominee of the

Libertarian Presidential Nominee Bitten By Bat, Skips Campaign Appearance To Get Rabies Shot

Libertarian-leaning congressman Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), who made national headlines last weekend for smearing Attorney General William Barr in no uncertain terms and seeming to call for President Donald Trump&#8217;s impeachment, is now being urged by many to run for president in 2020 under the Libertarian Party partisan banner. 
The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/444835-amash-wont-rule-out-libertarian-challenge-to-trump">reports</a>:
<blockquote>
In interviews this year, Amash has toyed with the idea of switching parties and running for president. The Michigan Republican has described himself as the only Libertarian member of Congress and has been increasingly critical of the GOP, accusing the party of abandoning its conservative values in the age of Trump.
Libertarian National Committee Chairman Nicholas Sarwark told The Hill there&#8217;s a full-scale effort underway to convince Amash to register as a Libertarian and run for president against Trump.
&#8220;There are a lot of Libertarian Party members actively encouraging Rep. Amash to switch parties and seek the Libertarian nomination,&#8221; Sarwark said. &#8220;This is probably the most organized recruitment effort I&#8217;ve seen going back to 2012 when people were trying to recruit [former Texas Rep.] Ron Paul.&#8221;
</blockquote>
As The Hill also notes, many anti-Trump Republicans, including longtime Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, have been actively courting a third-party challenger to Trump. These same Trump-critical Republicans have often praised Amash&#8217;s calling for impeachment, despite not always agreeing with Amash on his more libertarian-leaning stances on surveillance, security, and foreign policy issues.
&#8220;I say this as someone at odds with Amash on lots of issues important to me (and I think to him): All honor to Justin Amash, who has done so much today to set an example of constitutional responsibility and mature, civic discourse,&#8221; Kristol tweeted.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I say this as someone at odds with Amash on lots of issues important to me (and I think to him): All honor to Justin Amash, who has done so much today to set an example of constitutional responsibility and mature, civic discourse.
&#8212; Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1129881140255514625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
&#8220;If Trump&#8217;s the GOP nominee, I&#8217;d vote for [Justin Amash] as the [Libertarian Party] nominee in a heartbeat&#8221; added National Review&#8217;s David French.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
If Trump&#8217;s the GOP nominee, I&#8217;d vote for <a href="https://twitter.com/justinamash?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@justinamash</a> as the LP nominee in a heartbeat. <a href="https://t.co/UUMX4oZBUl">https://t.co/UUMX4oZBUl</a>
&#8212; David French (@DavidAFrench) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidAFrench/status/1130272769705480199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
As Reason <a href="https://reason.com/2019/05/21/libertarians-and-never-trump-republicans-court-justin-amash-to-run-for-president/">points out</a>, Amash&#8217;s Michigander status would have huge political ramifications for Trump were he to enter the race. After all, Michigan was one of three Rust Belt states &#8212; including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin &#8212; that Trump very narrowly carried in 2016. If Trump loses all three of those states in 2020, his Electoral College path to re-election is exceedingly narrow. 
Amash set political Twitter on fire last weekend by tweeting, after reading the full report recently completed by special counsel Robert Mueller: &#8220;Here are my principal conclusions: 1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Mueller&#8217;s report. 2. President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct. 3. Partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances. 4. Few members of Congress have read the report.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Here are my principal conclusions: 
1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Mueller&#8217;s report. 
2. President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct. 
3. Partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances. 
4. Few members of Congress have read the report.
&#8212; Justin Amash (@justinamash) <a href="https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/1129831615952236546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
In subsequent tweets as part of the same tweet thread, Amash also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/47404/leftists-back-gop-rep-justin-amash-smearing-barr-ryan-saavedra">stated</a>:
<blockquote>
I offer these conclusions only after having read Mueller&#8217;s redacted report carefully and completely, having read or watched pertinent statements and testimony, and having discussed this matter with my staff, who thoroughly reviewed materials and provided me with further analysis.
In comparing Barr&#8217;s principal conclusions, congressional testimony, and other statements to Mueller&#8217;s report, it is clear that Barr intended to mislead the public about Special Counsel Robert Mueller&#8217;s analysis and findings.
Barr&#8217;s misrepresentations are significant but often subtle, frequently taking the form of sleight-of-hand qualifications or logical fallacies, which he hopes people will not notice.
Under our Constitution, the president &#8220;shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.&#8221; While &#8220;high Crimes and Misdemeanors&#8221; is not defined, the context implies conduct that violates the public trust.
Contrary to Barr&#8217;s portrayal, Mueller&#8217;s report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment.
In fact, Mueller&#8217;s report identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence.
Impeachment, which is a special form of indictment, does not even require probable cause that a crime (e.g., obstruction of justice) has been committed; it simply requires a finding that an official has engaged in careless, abusive, corrupt, or otherwise dishonorable conduct.
While impeachment should be undertaken only in extraordinary circumstances, the risk we face in an environment of extreme partisanship is not that Congress will employ it as a remedy too often but rather that Congress will employ it so rarely that it cannot deter misconduct.
Our system of checks and balances relies on each branch&#8217;s jealously guarding its powers and upholding its duties under our Constitution. When loyalty to a political party or to an individual trumps loyalty to the Constitution, the Rule of Law&#8212;the foundation of liberty&#8212;crumbles.
We&#8217;ve witnessed members of Congress from both parties shift their views 180 degrees&#8212;on the importance of character, on the principles of obstruction of justice&#8212;depending on whether they&#8217;re discussing Bill Clinton or Donald Trump.
Few members of Congress even read Mueller&#8217;s report; their minds were made up based on partisan affiliation&#8212;and it showed, with representatives and senators from both parties issuing definitive statements on the 448-page report&#8217;s conclusions within just hours of its release.
America&#8217;s institutions depend on officials to uphold both the rules and spirit of our constitutional system even when to do so is personally inconvenient or yields a politically unfavorable outcome. Our Constitution is brilliant and awesome; it deserves a government to match it.
</blockquote>

Justin Amash Is Now Being Pressured To Run For President As A Libertarian

2020 Election

Impeachment

William Barr

Bill Weld, the Harvard-educated former Massachusetts governor whose name appeared next to presidential candidate Gary Johnson&#8217;s on the Libertarian ticket in 2016, officially announced on Monday that he is going to challenge President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020. And while he&#8217;s calling for a return to &#8220;principles&#8221; and &#8220;dignity,&#8221; Weld clearly isn&#8217;t shy about using some of Trump&#8217;s most-maligned past comments against him.
&#8220;It is time for patriotic men and women across our great nation to stand and plant a flag,&#8221; Weld said in a statement announcing his candidacy Monday. &#8220;It is time to return to the principles of Lincoln &#8211; equality, dignity, and opportunity for all. There is no greater cause on earth than to preserve what truly makes America great. I am ready to lead that fight.&#8221;
In a three-minute video announcing his candidacy released Monday, Weld highlighted some widely criticized comments by Trump, including Trump saying then-Sen. John McCain was not a war hero, his infamous &#8220;grab them by the p***y&#8221; comments caught in the &#8220;Access Hollywood&#8221; tape and President Trump&#8217;s initial response to the Charlottesville, VA tragedy in which he said there were &#8220;very fine people on both sides&#8221; in the protests and counter-protests over Confederate monuments that erupted into violence, ending in the death of a peaceful liberal protester.
The announcement video also touts Weld&#8217;s record on helping to fight corruption, particularly Democrat corruption in Massachusetts, as well as his connection to President Ronald Reagan, who appointed him to be a &#8220;crime-fighting&#8221; U.S. attorney. Among his achievements presented in the video are busting politicians for fraud and saving millions in tax-dollars in the process. His platform when he ran for governor as a Republican in the &#8220;one party&#8221; Democrat-controlled state: &#8220;Guts. Integrity. Independence.&#8221; After his &#8220;historic victory,&#8221; Weld &#8220;cut taxes 21 times,&#8221; &#8220;balanced the budget,&#8221; &#8220;reformed welfare,&#8221; and went on to win re-election &#8220;by the widest margin ever&#8221; in the state&#8217;s history, the video states.
&#8220;Today we need Bill Weld more than ever because America deserves better,&#8221; the video states before transitioning to Trump&#8217;s various controversial comments.
WATCH:
<div class="embed"><iframe loading="lazy" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/330371574" width="640"></iframe></div>
As <a href="https://www.axios.com/bill-weld-2020-presidential-election-factsheet-cd559718-9bf8-49e0-916a-e1e20c12be96.html">Axios</a> notes, Weld holds generally liberal views when it comes to social issues, including supporting abortion, legalized marijuana, and same-sex marriage. He also generally agrees with the Left&#8217;s view of climate change, though he also holds conservative and libertarian economic views. His various positions have aligned him as often with Democrats as Republicans in recent elections. In 2008, Weld backed Barack Obama over John McCain but Mitt Romney over Obama four years later. In 2016, Weld joined Johnson to represent the Libertarian Party.
So how much of a shot does a primary challenger have of unseating an incumbent? Almost zero, though tight primary races have in the past damaged an incumbent&#8217;s chances for re-election. Trump, however, continues to perform extremely well in polls among Republicans, with poll after poll finding that around 9 in 10 Republicans approve of the job he&#8217;s doing. <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/203198/presidential-approval-ratings-donald-trump.aspx">Gallup</a>&#8216;s presidential tracking poll has found Trump ranging from 81 to 91% among Republicans for over a year, and in the last three months ranging from 88 to 90%
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45971/watch-sarah-sanders-drags-democrats-over-trumps-james-barrett">WATCH: Sarah Sanders Drags Democrats Over Trump&#8217;s Tax Returns</a>

WATCH: Bill Weld Announces He’s Challenging Trump In 2020 GOP Primary, Uses Infamous Comments To Slam Him

Barack Obama

Republican Party

Trump Administration

Remso W. Martinez, a D.C.- based independent journalist and libertarian activist, has released a new book titled &#8220;Stay Away from the Libertarians.&#8221; Martinez takes the reader through many myths surrounding libertarians, explores the libertarian worldview, and debunks these preconceived notions one by one, in a humorous but thorough manner.
Martinez also succeeds at exposing the problems with the two major political parties and why each does not speak to the average American, intricately explaining why the authentic conservative movement should look to libertarianism as the alternative to the two-party duopoly. He states the obvious for any individual who has been paying attention: that &#8220;conservatives and Republicans don&#8217;t necessarily overlap. Because the GOP showed it would rather go hang with moderate Rob Portman and be seen at parties with RINO (Republican In Name Only) Jon Huntsman, obviously it didn&#8217;t matter if I was seeing other people as well.&#8221;
Martinez&#8217;s point is that we need to admit that while the Democratic party is home to the Progressive movement, many in the Republican Party, if not the majority, are progressive as well. He delves into his trajectory to libertarianism in the 2012 presidential candidacy of former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson. Johnson, who ran for a short time in the Republican primaries before becoming the Libertarian party&#8217;s nominee, is described by Martinez as &#8220;a big picture guy who wanted to fix the economy, get us out of the war, and respect the privacy of people to live their lives as they wanted to as long as they didn&#8217;t interfere with the peaceful existence of other people.&#8221; Martinez also states that he contends that social conservatism is similar to progressivism in that, in the end, it tells people what to do with their lives. His &#8220;dirty little secret&#8221; was silently rooting for Johnson over Romney because Johnson spoke more to what conservatism actually is, rather than Romney who just seemed to fake it for votes.
Author and philosopher Ayn Rand also serves as an integral component in Martinez&#8217;s new-formed worldview, in the sense that &#8220;she was against communism, socialism, and big government in bed with crony capitalists who work with government to rig the market.&#8221; However, according to Martinez, conservatives don&#8217;t like Rand because &#8220;she basically didn&#8217;t buy into the religious right stuff, where they try and get their personal beliefs into every political or social decision. She viewed that as coercion.&#8221;
Essentially, from the crony capitalism to the fright in standing up to the Left and all-around progressivism, Martinez makes the case that the libertarian movement is a far more suitable choice as a home to conservatives than the GOP.
You can buy Martinez&#8217;s book on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stay-Away-Libertarians-Remso-Martinez/dp/1719234973/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1530035157&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=stay+away+from+the+libertarians&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51h3ALia6HL&amp;ref=plSrch">Amazon</a>.

Follow Jeremy Frankel on <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/FrankelJeremy">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://m.facebook.com/frankeljeremy/?ref=bookmarks">Facebook</a>.

BOOK REVIEW: Stay Away from the Libertarians! by Remso W. Martinez

Menu