WASHINGTON — Shortly after former President Donald Trump requested the candidacy and votes of libertarians, the chair of the party claimed he had not filed the necessary papers.
“Mr. Trump did not submit any nomination papers,” Angela McArdle, chair of the Libertarian Party, informed the delegates on Sunday. “But he was nominated, and it’s nice to be nominated.”
Just moments before, the individual nominating Trump for consideration was heckled by the attendees of the Libertarian National Convention.
With thunderous applause from the delegates, the libertarian declared, “I would like to nominate the greatest president of our time, Donald J. Trump.”
A second individual approached a microphone to claim that Trump was unfit to be the nominee; the audience cheered and gave him a standing ovation in part.
A spokesman for the Trump campaign, when contacted for comment, referred to the president’s Truth Social post.
“The reason I didn’t file paperwork for the Libertarian Nomination, which I would have absolutely gotten if I wanted it (as everyone could tell by the enthusiasm of the Crowd last night!), was the fact that, as the Republican Nominee, I am not allowed to have the Nomination of another Party,” he wrote in the post.
A request for clarification on party rules was not immediately answered by the Republican National Committee.
Throughout his rally on Saturday night, the crowd heckled Trump, occasionally hurling slurs and profanities. There was cheering at some of his speech, including when he said he didn’t start any new conflicts while he was president.
Trump repeatedly urged the audience to cast their votes or nominate him. But the crowd was always against him, particularly when he asked for their assistance.
Trump declared on Saturday night, “I think you should nominate me or at least vote for me.” The assembly jeered.
Trump has a history of receiving nominations from the Conservative Party of New York in 2016 and 2020 while he was still the Republican nominee. The Libertarian nominee in both 2016 and 2020 was not Trump.
When asked about Trump’s prior simultaneous nominations in New York, the Trump campaign did not immediately reply.
Later on Sunday night, activist Chase Oliver was chosen as the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee. With little more than 60% of the vote in the seventh round of voting, he secured the nomination.
