After Libertarians Pick Chase Oliver As Presidential Candidate, Nominee Calls Trump ‘A War Criminal’

On Sunday, political activist Chase Oliver won 60% of the vote and was chosen as the Libertarian Party’s nominee for the 2024 presidential election.

In his victory speech, he asked his fellow party members to assist him in fighting “the war machine,” including the “genocide in Gaza.” He called for the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Oliver also demanded expanded work visas, a smoother path to citizenship for immigrants to U.S., the “decriminalization” of abortion and condemned American involvement in foreign wars.

Oliver said he “wants to bring a new vision to the broken two-party system” as he runs for president of the United States.” 

Oliver was chosen as the party’s nominee ahead of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump, who did not qualify.

The political activist was nominated after seven rounds of voting at the party’s convention in Washington, D.C., beating Michael Rectenwald and Mike ter Maat.

The final vote on Sunday night came down to Oliver or “none of the above,” which won 36.6% after Rectenwald had been eliminated from contention. Oliver chose Maat as his running mate.

Oliver pledged to be “a fly in the ointment of the two-party system.”

The activist also said securing 2% of the national vote in November was a realistic goal. 

“I got 2.1% of the vote when I ran for the Senate in Georgia,” he stated. “I think that’s a definite doable thing, and certainly, we can improve upon that with a hard-run campaign that wakes people up.”

He shared his criticism of Trump, saying it was a “mistake” to invite him to the Libertarians’ convention.

“You are not a libertarian … You’re a war criminal, and you deserve to be shamed by everyone in this hall,” he said of the former president.

Kennedy, who addressed the convention on May 24, was rejected for the nomination in the first round of voting, gaining just 2.07% of the vote from 19 delegates.

That happened after he reneged on his choice not to seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination, which would have allowed him ballot access in 37 states, telling chair Angela McArdle that he would accept if chosen, only to find he did not have a great deal of support in the room.

Trump also had trouble gaining support after his speech was loudly booed on Saturday night.

The former told the audience at the Washington Hilton that “the Libertarian Party should nominate Trump for president,” only for people to jeer in response.

The boos reached their highest point when Trump asked the attendees to “nominate me or at least vote for me” to “get rid of the worst president in history,” a remark aimed at President Joe Biden.

“That’s nice,” he stated sarcastically, with a contorted grin.

“Maybe you don’t want to win,” he said. “Only do that if you want to win. If you want to lose, don’t do that. Keep getting three percent every four years.”

After a clip of the booing went viral, Trump defended himself in a 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. 

“Regardless, I believe I will get a Majority of the Libertarian Votes,” he claimed. “Junior Kennedy is a Radical Left Democrat, who’s destroyed everything he’s touched, especially in New York and New England, and in particular, as it relates to the Cost and Practicality of Energy. He’s not a Libertarian. Only a FOOL would vote for him!”