Between boos and applause, Donald Trump made a controversial promise to the followers of the marginal Libertarian Party in exchange for their vote in the presidential elections on November 5.
At the party’s national convention, the former president pledged to release, if he reaches the White House again, an American sentenced to life in prison for running a website that sold millions of dollars in drugs. Libertarians consider that his arrest “represents an attack on free market principles.”
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†If you vote for me, on the first day I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht†Trump said, drawing applause from the crowd. Additionally, the Republican leader said he would appoint a libertarian to his administration.
Who is Ross Ulbricht
In 2015, Ross Ulbricht, creator of the Silk Road website, once considered the largest online drug-selling site in the world, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He had sold drugs worth $200 million to users around the world.
Its Dark Web black market site, sometimes nicknamed the “drugs ebay†, allowed the purchase of heroin, cocaine, LSD and other illegal products or false documents using the virtual currency bitcoin, guaranteeing the anonymity of its tens of thousands of buyers around the world.
Libertarian circles took up his cause and denounced his conviction as an excess of government power and an attack on free market principles. However, Trump has already promised, on the other hand, that he will support the death penalty for drug traffickers.
The heated political meeting was far from being an act of celebration for the former president, who was more accustomed to being surrounded by staunch followers.
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Many libertarians believe that Trump’s policies exceed the limits of what they consider the government’s powers should be. “The Libertarian Party should nominate Trump as a candidate for president of the United States,†said the Republican magnate to applause and boos. “Only if they want to win, but maybe they don’t want to win,†he added.
The Libertarian Party routinely fields very marginal candidates in elections who defend the idea of minimal government, the legalization of marijuana or even the abolition of the federal tax collection agency.
On Thursday, Trump held a rare rally in the Bronx, a poor district of New York, where he hopes to attract Hispanic and African-American voters who have expressed doubts about their support for Joe Biden.
(With information from AFP)