Outgoing (resigning, apparently today, in the middle of her term) LP National Chair Angela McArdle has announced that she is awarding Donald Trump an "honorary lifetime membership" in the Libertarian Party. This is absurd. (It is not clear she has the authority to do this, or what it is even supposed to mean, beyond being some kind of publicity stunt, but the publicity value is in my opinion negative.) Donald Trump is no Libertarian!
Yes, there are a few things we can applaud. He seems to be having fun disrupting various long-established bureaucratic structures. And he did pardon Ross Ulbricht, as he promised us he would do. He even acknowledged the libertarian connection with that in his announcement, saying he acted, in part, in honor of "the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly". And it's true that there were some libertarians who supported him.
But most of us did not support him, we did not contribute to his campaign, we did not vote for him β because we know that without a commitment to a consistent libertarian approach a politician cannot be trusted. And our mistrust has already been proven correct.
Immigration: Round-ups of "illegals", people being loaded into planes heading for Latin America, even preparing a prison camp at Guantanamo β these are all directly contrary to what a libertarian President would do.
Tariffs: Nobody knew how seriously to take Trump's talk of tariffs on the campaign trail. He has now gone ahead and imposed them on not just China but also our immediate neighbors (and largest trading partners) and is threatening long-time allies in Europe and beyond as well. This is directly contrary to our Platform, which states that "We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade."
Threats of foreign aggression: What kind of credibility can Americans' outrage at Putin's invasion of Ukraine have, if our own President is threatening to invade Greenland, Panama, maybe even Canada?
And how is the increased military spending that will accompany such policies supposed to be compatible with his promises to cut taxes?
There are of course lots of Democrats who are critical of the directions that Trump is leading us. But there are also plenty of other people β Republicans and voters who don't identify with either major party β who don't like what they see, but don't see any alternative.
It's time for us to be out there opposing these policies, explaining that there is a better way, and inviting all those people who are disgusted by, fearful of, or even just skeptical of what Trump is doing to join us.
Joe Dehn, County Chair
Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County
https://scclp.org