Americans consider third-party candidates in 2024 election

As former President Donald Trump prepared to speak on Saturday night at the Libertarian National Convention, held in Washington D.C., it seemed the effort signaled a need by Trump’s campaign to catch the attention of more potential third-party voters. More Americans appear to be abandoning the traditional labels of “Republican” and “Democrat.”

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke before a crowd at the convention on Friday night about COVID-19 pandemic-era lock downs and constitutional protections that he says were violated during that time when businesses were closed down and mask mandates were issued on the American public.

“President Trump presided over the greatest restriction on individual liberty this country has ever known,” Kennedy Jr. said.

The convention’s website, which reads “Become Ungovernable” in large yellow letters at the top, held events including the “Enemies of the State Dance Party,” and the “Vivek Debate” where former candidate Vivek Ramaswamy spoke to a crowd there.

It was the non-Libertarian voices that appeared to raise the stakes over the weekend.

Angela McArdle, Libertarian Party chair said, “For the first time in history one of the major party’s presidential candidates wants to come speak to us at our national convention. And that’s because people are starting to recognize — people who are smart — that we are the most powerful voting block in the country, and we have all of the political power right now.”

Some have pushed back on the appearances saying neither candidate really represents the type of small government, personal freedom principles that Libertarians stand for at the movement’s core. The candidates feel it is important to appear at the convention after a Gallup survey found that 45% of Americans identify as Independent, politically. Significantly more than both Republican or Democrat.