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:
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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:
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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.
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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

Donald Trump

Drag Queen story hour

Libertarian Party

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;
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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

2024 Election

Elections

Politics

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>
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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.
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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.
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&#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

New Hampshire

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:
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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

The North Carolina-based Civitas Institute released the findings of a nonpartisan poll on Wednesday that will be sure to anger the Democrat Party and their allies in the mainstream media. 
Civitas conducted the <a href="https://www.nccivitas.org/2017/2016-election-held-unaffiliated-voters-vote-trump/">poll</a> August 7 and 8, surveying 400 registered, likely, and unaffiliated voters. 
Their participants were asked: 
<blockquote>
If you had a chance to do it all over again, for whom would you vote for President between Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Gary Johnson?
</blockquote>
The poll found that 43% would vote for Donald Trump while Hillary Clinton only won 39%. Third party Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson won 9% while the other 9% refused to answer or were unsure. 
This will come as a surprise to the Left and the mainstream media, which have been insisting that Trump is unpopular thanks to a variety of manufactured controversies like the Russia collusion conspiracy theory, his attacks on the press, and his perceived unpopularity. 
Civitas President Col. Francis De Luca explained, &#8220;This result appears to illustrate two things: that Trump voters are sticking with him, and that elections are binary. Despite Donald Trump&#8217;s perceived unpopularity, when compared to another actual candidate, he remains ahead.&#8221;
The shocking thing is that unaffiliated voters tipped the scale in Trump&#8217;s favor. For weeks, the media has been parroting the Democrats&#8217; talking point that Trump&#8217;s base is weakening. 
Instead, the opposite seems to be happening. His base only seems to grow stronger as the Left continues their relentless attacks on the Republican president.
Josh Kraushaar, politics editor at National Journal, pointed out on Twitter, &#8220;Trump won by 4 in 2016. &#8216;Leading&#8217; by 4 now.&#8221;
<div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Civitas polled election do-over in North Carolina: Trump 43%, Clinton 39%, Johnson 9%. Trump won by 4 in 2016. &#8220;Leading&#8221; by 4 now.
&#8212; Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) <a href="https://twitter.com/HotlineJosh/status/900401520956649473">August 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>

New Poll Shows Trump Wins The 2016 Election If Held Again Today

Conservatism

Democratic Party

Gary Johnson

Hillary Clinton

Leftism

North Carolina

Poll

On his talk show <a href="http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/false-flag-ron-paul-says-syrian-chemical-attack-makes-no-sense">Liberty Report</a> on Wednesday, former Texas congressman Ron Paul said that the chemical attack in Syria this week was a &#8220;false flag&#8221; operation, which he suggested was being used by the war-mongering &#8220;neocons&#8221; and the &#8220;deep state&#8221; to push for war in the region.
&#8220;Yesterday, there was some bombing with possible gas exposure in Syria, and things have changed,&#8221; Paul told Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity (video below).
<blockquote>
PAUL: It reminds me of sort of weather reports: if you don&#8217;t like the weather, just wait an hour, you&#8217;ll get different weather. Well that&#8217;s sort of what happens in the Middle East. Just wait, it&#8217;ll change.
Before this episode of possible gas exposure and who did what, things were going along reasonably well for the conditions. Trump said let the Syrians decide who should run their country, and peace talks were breaking out, and Al Qaeda and ISIS were on the run, maybe defeated. So it was like in spite of their problems with their policies, it looked like there was some benefit. It looks like, maybe, somebody didn&#8217;t like that so there had to be an episode, and the blame now is we can&#8217;t let that happen because it looks like it might benefit Assad. So Assad, they claim, now went and released gas to kill a bunch of people.
</blockquote>
Citing a New York Times article announcing that the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/world/middleeast/syria-gas-attack.html">U.S. Blames Assad</a>, Paul said, it&#8217;s &#8220;not quite so easy though, is it?&#8221;
<blockquote>
PAUL: What happened four years ago in 2013, you know, this whole thing about crossing the red line? And ever since then, the neocons have been yelling and screaming, even part of the administration, has been yelling and screaming about Assad using poison gas.
</blockquote>
<div>&#8203;
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McAdams wholeheartedly agreed and came to Assad&#8217;s defense, saying, &#8220;It was never proven in fact. U.N. official Carla Del Ponte said it was most likely done by the rebels, based on the evidence.&#8221;
Paul returned to his central point: Why would Assad ruin a campaign that was going &#8220;reasonably well&#8221;? 
<blockquote>
PAUL: Who would benefit? It makes no sense, even if you were totally separate from this and take no sides of this and you were just an analyst, it doesn&#8217;t make sense for Assad under these conditions to all of a sudden use poison gasses. I think it&#8217;s zero chance that he would have done this deliberately, and he&#8217;s doing this now.
</blockquote>
After Paul smacked Sen. John McCain for absurdly blaming Trump for the chemical attack, Paul said the neocons and the &#8220;deep state&#8221; were out there colluding with Saudi Arabia, Israel, and various pro-oil, pro-military industrialism types trying to manufacture public support for war. 
Partial transcript via <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/05/it-makes-no-sense-ron-paul-thinks-syrian-chemical-attack-was-a-false-flag-video/">The Daily Caller</a>.
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WATCH: Ron Paul Says Chemical Attack In Syria Is A ‘False Flag’

Bashar Assad

Islamic State (ISIS)

Middle East

Syria

Libertarian Republican Sen. Rand Paul is sounding off after Sen. John McCain suggested that Paul was a Kremlin stooge. After accusing the Kentucky senator of &#8220;working for Vladimir Putin,&#8221; McCain <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/john-mccain-accuses-rand-paul-of-working-for-vladimir-putin/article/2617475">said</a> Wednesday that Paul&#8217;s decision to obstruct a preliminary process that would ultimately reify a treaty incorporating Montenegro into NATO qualified as unpatriotic, even traitorous behavior.
&#8220;If there&#8217;s objection, you are achieving the objectives of Vladimir Putin,&#8221; McCain <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/john-mccain-accuses-rand-paul-of-working-for-vladimir-putin/article/2617475">stressed</a>. &#8220;If they object, they are now carrying out the desires and ambitions of Vladimir Putin, and I do not say that lightly.&#8221;
Paul struck back Thursday morning, insisting that the Republican senator was &#8220;unhinged.&#8221; At one point, Paul even suggested that it was time for McCain to leave the Senate.
&#8220;You know, I think he makes a really, really strong case &#8230; for term limits,&#8221; the libertarian firebrand <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2617556/">said</a>. &#8220;I think maybe he&#8217;s past his prime. I think maybe he&#8217;s gotten a little unhinged.&#8221;
Dismissing McCain&#8217;s bold allegations, Paul explained that his opposition to expanding NATO stemmed from his unwillingness to place American soldiers into harm&#8217;s way.
&#8220;There&#8217;s a real debate about how big NATO should be and whether or not it&#8217;s been more provocative than good,&#8221; Paul stated. &#8220;We seem to be paying for all of it. Whenever there&#8217;s a war fought, our soldiers fight it and our dollars pay for it.&#8221;

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