Donald Trump has been working overtime to spin a new story about what happened at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington DC, after being loudly booed and jeered by the audience.
The Republican presidential contender confidently told the crowd at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night that “the Libertarian Party should nominate Trump for president,” only for howls of derision to ring out.
“That’s nice,” Mr Trump retaliated sarcastically, with a rictus grin.
“Maybe you don’t want to win. Only do that if you want to win. If you want to lose, don’t do that. Keep getting three per cent every four years.”
Apparently seeing a need for damage-limitation operations, Mr Trump took to Truth Social to insist that his appearance was a resounding success.
In a reposting spree, he published a series of handpicked posts from his allies praising his speech – including the likes of alt-right activist Laura Loomer, MAGA War Room and “Johnny MAGA”.
In another post on his social media platform, he also tried to claim he could have won the party’s nomination for the White House if he had really wanted it.
Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle ruled on Sunday that Mr Trump had not even qualified for the party’s nomination because he failed to submit nominating papers.
In response, Mr Trump claimed in a Truth Social post: “The reason I didn’t file paperwork for the Libertarian Nomination, which I would have absolutely gotten if I wanted it (as everyone could tell by the enthusiasm of the Crowd last night!), was the fact that, as the Republican Nominee, I am not allowed to have the Nomination of another Party.
“Regardless, I believe I will get a Majority of the Libertarian Votes.”
Mr Trump continued the post by deriding his independent rival Robert F Kennedy Jr, who spoke at the same event on Friday: “Junior Kennedy is a Radical Left Democrat, who’s destroyed everything he’s touched, especially in New York and New England, and in particular, as it relates to the Cost and Practicality of Energy.
“He’s not a Libertarian. Only a FOOL would vote for him!”
Ultimately, both RFK Jr and Mr Trump lost out, with Chase Oliver ultimately securing the party’s nomination.
Mr Trump’s allies were also quick to back his alternate reality about the former president’s Libertarian party support.
Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday morning, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, a former GOP presidential rival turned ardent Trump booster, claimed: “I saw a wave of red hats at the Libertarian convention.
“Donald Trump’s popularity continues to increase, but then he’s not just going to the Libertarian convention. He’s also doing rallies in [the] Bronx. He’s doing something, what I consider a 50-state strategy.”
The senator continued: “I give him a lot of credit and going to places where Republicans have not gone before. If we’re going to win this election cycle, we must go where we’re not invited.
“And to see the former president take that seriously is, in my opinion, a strong sign and one of the reasons why we are seeing the poll numbers moving in his direction.”
What Mr Scott neglected to mention in his interview with Dana Bash, according to Semafor reporter Dave Weigel, was that the red hats he spotted at the convention were actually in support of Argentinian President Javier Milei, not Mr Trump, and read: “Make Argentina Great Again.”