Chaotic moment RFK Jr. accepts bid for Libertarian presidential nomination and shocking move could give him the votes to defeat Trump or Biden

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became a candidate for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination on Sunday, a shocking move that could give him enough votes to defeat Donald Trump or Joe Biden in November.

Kennedy, who spoke at the convention on Friday, was nominated by a delegate on the convention floor on Sunday as the party’s default barrier to the White House. Kennedy’s candidacy was met with boos from other delegates.

There was some initial confusion over whether or not Kennedy, who is mounting an independent bid, would accept the nomination and whether he had filed the necessary paperwork.

Kennedy had originally said he would remain an independent candidate and not be the Libertarian candidate.

Finally, party chair Angela McArdle, who was on stage, called Kennedy to ask him.

She stepped away from the microphone to talk to him, but she could be heard telling him, “I’m on stage and I have to ask you if you accept the nomination.”

She then took the microphone back to inform the delegates, “He’s contacting us.”

Kennedy ultimately accepted the nomination. McArdle also confirmed that his paperwork is in order and he is eligible to run.

Libertarians will choose their candidate for the White House at their meeting in Washington this weekend. Their nominee is expected to be chosen on Sunday.

Trump was also nominated from the audience on Sunday. However, McArdle ruled that Trump was not qualified because he had not filed nomination papers.

If Kennedy wins the nomination, it would be a boost to his efforts to contest elections in all fifty states — and a threat to both Biden and Trump’s efforts to win a second term in the White House.

The Libertarian Party has access to ballots in at least 37 states, including key battleground states such as Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

As an independent candidate, Kennedy must appear separately on each state’s ballot, and each state has its own procedures for doing so.

But if he were the Libertarian candidate, he would get on the ballot in enough states to theoretically reach the 270 Electoral College votes needed to qualify for the presidential debate — and even win the presidency.

If Kennedy were the candidate and won in all 37 states, he would collect 380 electoral votes.

The Libertarian Party’s 37 states are more than double the 15 states where the Kennedy campaign says it is currently taking steps to get to the ballot box.

In other scenarios, Kennedy could win enough votes in a swing state to influence whether Biden or Trump wins the battleground — which could in turn influence the winner of the general presidential election.

That threat of Kennedy’s candidacy is giving both Biden and Trump’s teams nightmares. Every candidate’s campaign has attacked Kennedy.

Opinion polls show he could siphon votes from both men, with a May Reuters/Ipsos survey showing him supported by 13% of respondents.

Kennedy accepted the nomination in a short video statement in which he thanked party members for the “unexpected honor.” He said he hopes Libertarians will join an “alliance” of outside and independent voters to help defeat Biden and Trump.

“I am deeply grateful to the Libertarian Party for this great honor, and I look forward to an alliance across the country, a fusion alliance of all these independents who are now challenging the corrupt Republican-Democratic duopoly,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy and Trump also addressed the convention personally: Kennedy on Friday and Trump on Saturday. Conference organizers also invited President Biden to speak, but he declined.

Both Kennedy and Trump faced a hostile reception from the libertarian crowd — attacking them with boos and jeers — when they both made their remarks.

Kennedy, however, won some cheers by promising to pardon whistleblower Edward Snowden, currently exiled in Russia, and dropping spy charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is fighting US efforts to expel him from Britain to deliver.

He also lambasted both Trump and Biden for their responses to the Covid pandemic.

“Maybe a brain worm ate that part of my memory, but I can’t remember any part of the U.S. Constitution that has an exception for pandemics,” Kennedy said, referring to a New York Times report that resonated with him more once the diagnosis was made. ten years ago with a parasite that lodged in his brain.

“Neither of them upheld the Constitution when it really mattered,” he said of Biden and Trump.

However, many in the crowd are concerned that Kennedy, who initially ran for the Democratic nomination before switching to an independent candidate, was not a true libertarian.

But Kennedy has emphasized what he has in common with libertarians, who have strong beliefs about individual and civil liberties and free choice. They believe in even smaller government than Republicans, but are less focused on lower taxes than the Republican Party.

“My approach is a free-market approach, which appeals to libertarians,” Kennedy told CNN last week.

“I’m against war, which I think is another important issue for libertarians. I support constitutional rights. President Trump has dismantled our constitutional rights during Covid. So I think libertarians are probably more likely to support me if they follow their philosophies.”

Trump turned fierce against the crowd in his remarks on Saturday.

“You can nominate us and give us the position, or give us your vote,” Trump said to boos as he left the stage.

Trump repeatedly snapped back at the crowd and their hostility, at one point telling them to “keep getting your 3%.” [of the national vote] every four years,” and added, “Maybe you don’t want to win.”