Donald Trump had a “We’re no longer in Kansas” moment on Saturday night. The former president attended the Libertarian National Convention in a bid to convince that small segment of American voters that he was their best bet in November, and let’s just say the crowd wasn’t exactly friendly.
From beginning to end, Trump was booed relentlessly during his speech, though he had a few applause lines, specifically surrounding a prospective pardon of Ross Ulbricht. Overall, though, the scene was chaotic despite the best efforts of Trump supporters like Mike Lee to calm things down.
Here’s a bit of what it sounded like, and in a twist that may surprise some people, I’m going to explain why this was a good thing for Trump.
Trump began his speech with boos and Trump ends his speech with boos
Consistent pic.twitter.com/Yco7c6y3Uy
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 26, 2024
Trump: You should nominate me!
Crowd: boooooooooooooooooooooooooo pic.twitter.com/VhgikOTL04
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 26, 2024
There are two ways to respond to this if you’re a supporter of Donald Trump. One is to take the approach Monica Crowley did, which is to just outright mislead people about what happened.
One night President Trump has the Bronx cheering for him.
The next night he has the Libertarians going wild for him.
He’s expanding MAGA in unbelievable ways.
Absolute legend.
— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) May 26, 2024
The other approach is to tell the truth because the truth is much cooler than the North Korean-style “Everyone loved him” claims. Let me explain.
Yes, Trump was booed over and over, but so what? I would posit most people prefer a candidate who is willing to go into a hostile environment, speak to those who disagree with him, and keep his composure in the process. During the first clip above, as the crowd showed its disapproval, Trump cracked a smile and kept hitting his points. That’s the best way to handle a situation like that.
Compare that to Joe Biden, who often gets flustered and lashes out in the face of hecklers, telling them “not to jump” or challenging audience members to push-up contests. It’s weird and unappealing, and it’s a product of the president having skin so thin that it’s translucent.
I think it’s a positive for Trump to be in front of a booing crowd every once in a while. It’s a good reminder that the MAGA rally environment he’s used to isn’t real life and that the fight in November is going to be a brawl. Every vote counts. Even if he didn’t win over the Libertarian Party delegates during his speech, if he walked away with just one more vote in his pocket, he’s in a better position than when he started. There was nothing to lose by making his case.
Besides, he dunked on Libertarians to their faces, and that alone made the entire speech worth it.
Trump dunking on LOLbertarians at their own convention. Hahahahahaha pic.twitter.com/ZoZnBoTfDS
— Magills (@magills_) May 26, 2024
TRUMP: Only do that if you want to win. If you want to lose, don’t do that. Keep getting your three percent every four years.
I sort of apologize to the more libertarian-leaning folks reading this, but only sort of. It’s all in good fun.
Long story short, showing up to face people who don’t like you is much more impressive than only speaking to adoring crowds. Trump isn’t going to lose a single vote because of the boos at the LNC, and by the end of his speech, he had drawn another important distinction with Biden. That’s a win.
