A split-screen showdown between presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will take place this weekend at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C., as each candidate tries to win over the party’s base.
But it’s unlikely the two candidates will face off head-to-head, despite Kennedy’s call for a debate between the two — he spoke at the convention on Friday afternoon, the day before Trump speaks on Saturday night.
The Libertarian Party, which has voting rights in at least 37 states, is a non-interventionist party that has undergone many incarnations since its founding in the 1970s. Many of its members are well known for being socially liberal and fiscally conservative.
The party is expected to endorse its presidential and vice presidential candidates on Sunday.
“Libertarians are some of our nation’s most independent-minded and thoughtful thinkers. We must all work together to advance the freedoms and rights of all Americans. A second Trump Administration will achieve that goal, and I look forward to speaking at a Libertarian event attended by many of my great friends,” Trump said in a statement to ABC News.
As Election Day approaches, both Trump and Kennedy are trying to court voters where they can. Polls show Trump slightly ahead of Biden at 41% and about 40%, respectively, while Kennedy is trailing at just under 10%, according to an average of 538 national polls.
The Libertarian Party said it had extended speaking invitations to both Trump and Biden, and called the former president’s acceptance “significant.”
“This monumental occasion will mark the first time a former president will address party members, candidates and executive committee members in person. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from a leading figure in American politics and see him commit to libertarian ideals,” the party said in a press release.
Kennedy then accepted the address to the convention, describing the venue as the “perfect neutral ground” for the meeting, and challenged Trump to a debate.
“You yourself said that you wouldn’t be afraid to debate me if my approval ratings were good. So let’s meet in two weeks and show the American people that at least two of the major candidates aren’t afraid to debate each other,” Kennedy wrote to X earlier this month.
Trump did not comment on the invitation, but later said separately that he would be open to sharing the debate stage with Kennedy if he qualified to compete in a televised presidential debate this summer.
Mark Rutherford, who is running for Libertarian Party chairman, said some Libertarians object to Trump and Kennedy attending the convention because they are not the party’s candidates.
“This is the Libertarian Party’s national convention to nominate its presidential and vice presidential candidates. He is the presumptive Republican nominee. It would be inappropriate for him to speak here. We need to focus on our own candidate,” Rutherford said of Trump.
He said the same about Kennedy.
“Again, he’s running against our candidate … so it’s not appropriate for them to be here,” Rutherford said.
“[Libertarian Party leadership] “They’re bragging about bringing these people. I think it’s confusing the public and the people. Why are they here at the presidential nominating convention?”
Chase Oliver, a presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party, called Trump and Kennedy’s attendance at the convention “disruptive.”
“It’s going to confuse average voters like us when we see Donald Trump speak with a Libertarian flag behind him. We have to get ourselves out of that hole and present a real contrast, and I’m happy to do that, but it’ll be a lot easier if we don’t have them on our stage,” Oliver said Friday in an interview with ABC News White House correspondent Mary Alice Parks.
But another Libertarian Party delegate, Garrett Steele of Nashville, Tennessee, said he was thrilled that both Trump and Kennedy attended the convention because they “brought attention” to the party and its platform.
Oliver will be a candidate at the convention along with Michael Recktenwald, Mike ter Mart, Lars Mapsted, Jacob Hornberger, Joshua Smith, Joseph Collins, Charles Barley, Todd, Art Olivier and Jody Jones.
“There’s a lot of people running,” Rutherford said, suggesting there is no clear front-runner in the race.
Kennedy could be nominated in a delegate vote at the Libertarian National Convention on Sunday.
ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim, Sue-Lynn Kim, Larry Ibsa and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
