# 2024 Libertarian National Convention The **2024 Libertarian National Convention** was held May 24–26, 2024 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., where the [[Libertarian Party]] selected its presidential ticket for the 2024 election. The convention is best remembered for its branding theme — **"Become Ungovernable"** — and for hosting guest speeches by [[Donald Trump]] and [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]], both of whom courted Libertarian voters during the [[2024 Presidential Election]]. ## "Become Ungovernable" "Become Ungovernable" was the official theme and slogan of the convention, displayed in graffiti-style branding throughout the event and across its promotional materials. The motto reflected the anti-statist, anti-establishment posture of the Mises Caucus, the hard-line faction that had taken control of the [[Libertarian Party]] in 2022. The phrase is frequently misattributed to Trump because it appeared on screen behind him during his speech, but it was the Libertarian Party's own slogan rather than a Trump quote or motto. The phrase has a longer history in anarchist and anti-authoritarian protest culture and has since been adopted by anti-Trump opposition movements as well — making it a contested slogan claimed across the political spectrum. ## Trump's speech Trump addressed the convention on the evening of Saturday, May 25, 2024 — an invitation that was highly controversial within the party. He made an explicit play for the Libertarian nomination, asking delegates to "nominate me or at least vote for me," and was met with sustained booing and heckling over his COVID-19 record, federal deficits, and past statements. His loudest applause came when he pledged that, if elected, he would commute the life sentence of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht on "Day One" — a promise aimed squarely at the "Free Ross" contingent filling the hall. Trump also vowed to appoint a Libertarian to his cabinet. Party chair Angela McArdle took the stage beforehand to ask Trump's front-row supporters to make room for the actual delegates "you're trying to persuade." Many Libertarians, including eventual nominee Chase Oliver, dismissed the Ulbricht pledge as cynical pandering. It was not: the pardon issued on January 21, 2025, and the sequence is tracked in the [[Silk Road Darknet Market Timeline]]. ## RFK Jr.'s appearance [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]], then running as an independent, addressed the convention on Friday, May 24. He was briefly placed into nomination from the floor but was eliminated in the first round of presidential balloting with 19 delegate votes. ## The nomination After seven rounds of voting late on May 26, delegates nominated **Chase Oliver** for president and **Mike ter Maat** for vice president. Oliver's win represented a setback for the Mises Caucus, whose preferred candidates faded across the successive ballots despite the faction's control of party machinery. ## Why it's in this vault The convention sits at the intersection of several threads tracked here: the [[Libertarianism]] faction of the broader coalition, Trump's 2024 effort to absorb adjacent voter blocs, and the post-2022 Mises Caucus realignment that pulled LP messaging toward populist, anti-establishment territory. The "Become Ungovernable" slogan is the durable artifact — a Libertarian Party motto, not a Trump line. ## See also - [[Libertarian Party]] - [[Libertarianism]] - [[Donald Trump]] - [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]] - [[2024 Presidential Election]]