'An abomination': Libertarians rebel after Trump invited to speak to party convention
Donald Trump's invitation to address the Libertarian Party's national convention has outraged many members — but leadership is refusing to rescind it, according to a report.
Party leaders considered disinviting the presumptive Republican nominee after the treasurer moved to reverse the decision, but national committee chair Angela McArdle insisted the dissenters were “a small noisy faction" and defended the invitation, reported the Washington Post.
“I can certainly understand that there are a handful of people allergic to relevance, afraid to confront their political opposition, afraid of losing control of the narrative,” she said. “But in 50-plus years, the Libertarian Party has never been on the main stage politically and this is an incredible opportunity for us to bring someone who grabs the spotlight and put them on our stage.”
The newspaper reviewed emails where the dissenters called for a vote because "over half of the membership is up in arms,” saying that many of the ideas Trump has discussed — including domestic military deployments, expanding tariffs and indemnifying police — violate their principals of limited government and free markets.
“People are terribly upset,” said national committee member Beth Vest. “I know very few party insiders, except the few that are connected to this caucus and to [McArdle], who think this is a good idea.”
Vest filed a case Friday arguing that McArdle had violated party bylaws, without explicitly referring to the invitation, and Libertarian Party presidential hopefuls Chase Oliver, Lars Mapstead, Jacob Hornberger and Mike ter Maat complained that Trump's presence might appear to be an endorsement of his candidacy.
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“Could you imagine if the Republican National Committee invited me to come be a main speaker at the convention?" Mapstead said. “It seems ridiculous, right?”
Hornberger called the invitation “an abomination," adding that "people have come to perceive that Libertarian Party as right-wing, and he will just be reinforcing that image."
“I think we’re seeing a lot of people who said, ‘Oh this is going to be turned into the Donald Trump party,’ and they have been feeling like they’ve been proven right,” Oliver said. “I think it’s up to libertarians to shout Donald Trump down and to boo him and to give him the reception he deserves to prove them wrong. Otherwise, they’re proven right.”