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Our guest today is Mike ter Maat. (pronounced Mike ter Mot). Mike was the Libertarian Party’s 2024 nominee for Vice President and has since joined the Republican Party and the Republican Liberty Caucus. His career has taken an unusual path – economist, White House Office of Management and Budget financial economist, professor and entrepreneur.
And now Mike is doing something unusual again: campaigning for the 2028 Republican nomination for Vice President, while advocating for a change in how the Republican Party selects its vice-presidential nominee.
1) You were the Libertarian Party’s Vice-Presidential nominee in 2024, but afterward you joined the Republican Party and the Republican Liberty Caucus. You’ve described that as a change in political strategy rather than philosophy. What did you learn from 2024 that convinced you the best opportunity to advance your ideas about individual liberty, limited government and free markets was now from inside the Republican Party?
2) You have one of the more unusual résumés in politics: economist, White House experience, professor and entrepreneur—and then more than eleven years wearing a badge as a police officer in Broward County. How did enforcing the law change the way you think about civil liberties, and which constitutional rights are you now most concerned about protecting from government overreach?
3) Now let’s talk about this unprecedented campaign you’re running. Normally we think of the presidential nominee as choosing a running mate. You’re campaigning for the 2028 Republican Vice-Presidential nomination and advocating for national convention delegates to have a meaningful role in selecting that nominee. Why do you believe that process should change, and what would a delegate-driven convention actually look like?
4) Your argument goes beyond changing convention procedure. You’ve suggested that independently empowering delegates to select the Vice President could produce a more independent VP and bring another perspective into the executive branch. What do you believe the constitutional role of the Vice President should be, and how would changing the selection process alter the relationship between a President and Vice President once they’re actually governing?
5) Your platform emphasizes civil liberties, free markets, free trade and putting the Constitution back at the center of government decision-making. You’ve said that presidential administrations have progressively moved away from constitutional limits. Where do you believe the federal government has departed most significantly from those limits—and what would you want a Vice President to do about it?
6) Our audience is particularly concerned about the Second Amendment. You’ve been both a civilian gun owner and a law-enforcement officer. How did your experience on patrol shape your understanding of the individual’s right to self-defense and the relationship between armed citizens, police, and public safety?
7) How do people follow your campaign and learn more about your proposal for changing the vice-presidential nomination process?
Originally Aired 10.14.26
