NASHVILLE — President Donald Trump is winning over at least one local Libertarian as he prepares to seek re-election next year, and he may likely win over several more.
This, according to Libertarian Amie Gibbons.
Gibbons told The Tennessee Star Tuesday that Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson got her vote in 2016.
But Gibbons said she’s open to four more years of Trump.
Gibbons joined members of the Davidson County Republican Party Tuesday at Nashville’s Crow’s Nest restaurant in the city’s Green Hill’s area to watch Trump announce his re-election campaign during a rally in Orlando, Fla.
“There are a few things I disagree with Trump on, but if he can keep all of this up then he gets my vote in 2020. I think there is a very big difference in how independents and Libertarians are treating this,” Gibbons said.
“This is the guy who came into office saying I want to scale back big government — and he’s actually been doing it. That’s earning a lot of my people’s votes.”
So, what does that mean for the 2020 Libertarian Party presidential candidate, whether it’s Johnson or someone else?
“The same thing it meant in 2016,” Gibbons told The Star. “He’s not going to win.”
Other people who gathered at the Crow’s Nest hoped Trump would use the term “fake news” during his speech.
They weren’t disappointed.
But Trump also turned his attention to Democrats. During his speech, Trump warned that Democrats want “to splinter us into factions and tribes.”
Trump also said the national economy is in great shape because of his tax cuts and other policies.
“It turned out to be more than just a great political campaign. It turned out to be a great political movement because of you,” Trump told supporters about what happened in 2016.
“It’s a movement made up of people who believe that a nation must care for its own citizens first.”
Gibbons said that Trump scaling back former Democratic President Barack Obama’s regulations have improved America’s overall well-being.
“He says ‘This shouldn’t have been done.’ He also looks elsewhere and says ‘This shouldn’t have been done. Let’s get rid of this,’” Gibbons said of Trump. “He actually did what he said he was going to do.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
I’ve been involved in the TNLP for 4 years and have met hundreds of Libertarians across the state, but I have no idea who this person is.