(RepublicanDaily.org) – The United States’ Libertarian party has rejected supporting both former president Donald Trump and Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. opting instead to field their own presidential nominee.
That nominee is Chase Oliver, who previously ran for senator for the state of Georgia. He has described himself as “armed and gay,” boasting pro-gun, pro-choice, and anti-cop advocacies. His running mate will be Mike ter Maat, who also vied for the party’s presidential nomination, but ultimately conceded and endorsed Oliver in exchange for being named the vice-presidential candidate.
Libertarians generally support individual freedoms that do not impede the rights of others, such as gun rights and LGBTQ+ rights, and freedom of expression. However, the group also supports minimizing governmental authority and lower taxes, and opposes things such as armed involvement and interference, as well as corporal punishment.
Oliver secured the party’s nomination after seven rounds of voting, receiving roughly 60% of the total votes within the party. Oliver said that he and Maat hope to address the burgeoning jadedness experienced by millennial and Gen Z voters who have become disillusioned with the country’s “broken two-party system.”
The Democrats have made no bid to secure a nomination from the Libertarians – Oliver previously supported former president Barack Obama, but he said that he ultimately rejected the Democrats due to its support of armed conflict, particularly in the Middle East. In a 2022 post on Twitter/X, Oliver scored Obama for his “broken promises” and the “thousands of dead innocents from his drone bombings.”
Trump addressed the Libertarians during the party’s convention in Washington D.C., promising cabinet positions if he received the nomination and eventually wins a second term at the White House. During his speech, the former chief executive urged the party to “make yourself winners” and vote against the “worst president in history,” President Joe Biden. Not all the attendees were receptive to his speech, however, with many booing him repeatedly while he was on stage.
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