Republican presidential candidate Kentucky Senator Rand Paul stated that while he doesn’t trust Iran or think parading US soldiers is right, “it’s a step forward that a country that we have such an adversarial relationship with returned our soldiers and that we didn’t begin a war” in an interview broadcast on Wednesday’s “All In with Chris Hayes” on MSNBC.
Rand said of the Iran’s capturing of 10 US sailors, when I see a situation like this, my hope is for peaceful resolving the — peacefully resolving the situation, but also looking for a silver lining. Do I trust Iran? Do I think it’s right to parade our soldiers? No. But do I think it’s a step forward that a country that we have such an adversarial relationship with returned our soldiers and that we didn’t begin a war? Absolutely.”
He further stated, “I’m not saying never. I’m not saying we don’t defend ourselves. I’m just saying I want to be less than — involved in every damn civil war in the whole world.”
Earlier, when asked about his reaction to South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s response to the State of the Union, “I think it’s important that the republican party not be seen as a party that’s not welcoming and that wants new people. I’ve said we need to be a party that has, you know, with earrings, without earrings, with tattoos, without tattoos, black, white, brown, rich, poor, we need to be a more diverse party, and if anything, that’s one of the faults of the Republican Party, is we’re not diverse enough. When we become the old white man’s party, which we’ve been kind of headed towards for a while, we’re never going to win another election. So, I’m in the camp of saying, yes, we need to be careful of letting the voice of the Republican Party be someone who thinks that all immigrants are rapists or drug dealers.”
He added, “I would go even further, because I think that Trump is a disaster for the Republican Party, and a disaster for the image that would cultivate and bring new people in, but also for those who have a serious approach as to how we would defend the country. One of the scariest things of the campaign, that I think has been under-reported is, not only did Trump not know what the nuclear triad was, that we have missiles by air, land, sea, but a week later his spokesman said our biggest problem is that we have not been willing enough to use our nuclear arsenal. Well, that should scare people to death. anybody that’s gotten beyond the third grade would say ‘Oh, my goodness, we don’t want a president that is eager to use our nuclear arsenal, we want one, Republican or Democrat, who’s reasonable, and restrained, and knows that it’s a deterrent but, we’re not eager to use it by any means.'”
(h/t Real Clear Politics)
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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