The Libertarian Party Would Be Foolish to Let RFK Jr. and Donald Trump Take Over the National Convention
Since when does the Libertarian Party offer its platform to the Uniparty?
If you follow Libertarian politics, you might already know about the controversy over the national party’s decision to invite former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to speak on the stage at the national convention.
While Biden has declined, Trump has taken up the party on its offer as has RFK Jr. Both candidates will be present at the event to make their case for their candidacies.
The development has resulted in fiery debate in liberty circles with people arguing for and against the decision to open the stage to Trump and Kennedy.
Those supporting the move argue that it will get tons of press coverage for the Libertarian Party. Given that mainstream media tends to avoid covering Libertarians as much as possible, it is understandable that folks in the liberty movement would want that much-needed spotlight at the national level.
Supporters also contend that this will be an opportunity for Libertarians to take both candidates to task for the anti-liberty policy ideas. Indeed, there will be plenty of fodder for both individuals, who are about as libertarian as Biden is a decent president.
Those arguing against the decision insist that allowing members of the Uniparty to headline the event would only serve to draw attention away from the process of nominating the Libertarian Party’s candidate for president and vice president. Moreover, it would only allow these candidates to use the Libertarian platform for their own campaigns.
They also argue that the press will not give nearly as much coverage to the Libertarian Party as some have suggested. Being a member of the media, I can already tell you that the press will focus solely on Trump and RFK Jr. and barely mention the Libertarian Party and its ideology. Trump knows how to suck the energy out of the room and make the entire event about himself. The media will only help him in this endeavor in a way that does little to nothing to benefit the LP.
Now, RFK Jr. has thrown down the gauntlet and demanded a debate with Trump at the national convention, a move that would only further serve to allow these two men to dominate a platform that either candidate believes in. On X, Kennedy highlighted his poll numbers and said:
You yourself have said you’re not afraid to debate me as long as my poll numbers are decent. Well, they are. In fact, I’m the only presidential candidate in history who has polled ahead of both major party candidates in head-to-head races.
So let’s meet at the Libertarian convention and show the American public that at least two of the major candidates aren’t afraid to debate each other. I asked the convention organizers and they are game for us to use our time there to bring the American people the debate they deserve!
This prompted even more conflict centered around whether the LP should allow these two men to use its platform to debate one another.
So far, I’m seeing most libertarians on social media disagreeing with this idea. However, some have indicated that if the eventual Libertarian nominee also participates, then it might be a good idea. “If RFK and Trump debate at the Libertarian convention, the Libertarian candidate should be in that debate,” said former Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate Spike Cohen in a post on X.
It’s already a bad idea to have Trump headline the party’s national convention. As stated previously, the level of press proponents expect this will bring to the party is unrealistic. The notion that the media will finally somehow be forced to pay attention to us is naive at best. The media knows exactly how to ignore those it wants to ignore. The only mention the party will get will be in the context of a hyperfocus on the Orange Man What Is Bad™.
Members of the media will only be watching in the hopes that Trump says something they can use against him and his supporters. Same with RFK Jr. Even most reports on this development have only mentioned the LP in passing while focusing primarily on the two Uniparty candidates. From where I sit, there is no real upside to having Trump and RFK Jr. dominate the stage at the Libertarian Party’s national convention.
However, the decision has already been made. At this point, the best we could hope for is a debate involving both of the Uniparty candidates along with the LP’s presidential nominee, who will be voted in on the same day. If this happens, then it would be impossible for the press to ignore the Libertarians in the room. The question is: Would Trump or RFK Jr. agree to this?
Probably not.
One correction here, Biden hasn't declined the invitation. While it is unlikely he will accept, he hasn't declined it and there is still a chance he could accept.