Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulRand Paul says he can't judge 'guilt or innocence' in Breonna Taylor case Overnight Health Care: Health officials tell public to trust in science | Despair at CDC under Trump influence | A new vaccine phase 3 trial starts Health officials tell public to trust in science MORE (R-Ky.) has defended President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE on some of his most controversial moves, going against the prevailing sentiment of the libertarian movement with which he and his father, former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), have long been identified.

Some of the most libertarian-leaning members of Congress, such as Sens. Jeff Flake Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeHow fast population growth made Arizona a swing state Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Republican former Michigan governor says he's voting for Biden MORE (R-Ariz.) and Ben Sasse Benjamin (Ben) Eric SasseTrump says he'll sign order aimed at protecting premature babies in appeal to religious voters Government watchdog recommends creation of White House cyber director position Chamber of Commerce endorses McSally for reelection MORE (R-Neb.), and Rep. Justin Amash Justin AmashInternal Democratic poll shows tight race in contest to replace Amash Centrist Democrats 'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill On The Trail: How Nancy Pelosi could improbably become president MORE (R-Mich.), have served as forceful critics of Trump within the GOP. But Rand Paul, who prefers the mantle of constitutional conservative to libertarian, has repeatedly offered Trump a stirring defense.

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Paul last week called for the use of lie detector tests to find the identity of a senior administration official who criticized Trump harshly in an anonymous New York Times op-ed, giving support to senior White House aides who have discussed the possibility.

Earlier this summer, Paul was the first prominent voice in Congress to call for Trump to revoke former CIA Director John Brennan John Owen BrennanJournalism or partisanship? The media's mistakes of 2016 continue in 2020 Comey on Clinton tweet: 'I regret only being involved in the 2016 election' Ex-CIA Director Brennan questioned for 8 hours in Durham review of Russia probe MORE’s security clearance, giving the president political cover to do just that. Other Republican senators, such as Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsClub for Growth to spend million in ads for Trump Supreme Court nominee Maryland's GOP governor says Republicans shouldn't rush SCOTUS vote before election The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November MORE (Maine) and Bob Corker Robert (Bob) Phillips CorkerHas Congress captured Russia policy? Tennessee primary battle turns nasty for Republicans Cheney clashes with Trump MORE (Tenn.), criticized Trump’s decision to pull Brennan’s clearance.

In July, Paul made headlines by defending Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. He dismissed criticism of Trump’s chummy joint press conference with Putin as “Trump derangement syndrome.”

The forceful defense of Trump has been noticed, with some saying Paul has embraced Trump to help set himself up for another presidential run or to secure pro-Trump voters in Kentucky for his Senate reelection in 2022. Paul ran for the White House in 2016 but saw his support drop quickly after Trump joined the race.

“When Rand Paul was running for president and Donald Trump got into the race, Trump immediately stole about half of Paul’s base because there are a number of people with that mixture of views, including libertarian, that like Paul and found a certain appeal with Trump,” said Al Cross, a journalism professor at the University of Kentucky and a longtime commentator on Kentucky politics.

“I suspect Paul is looking down the road,” he added. “He may be hoping to inherit some of those supporters. That’s looking at it from the national lens should he want to run for president in 2020, should Trump not run.”

Paul’s allies argue that Trump holds many positions favored by libertarians, such as skepticism of multilateral alliances, a desire to keep U.S. military forces out of foreign conflicts and a desire to devolve federal power back to the states.

“It’s consistent. When you look at the Helsinki summit, Sen. Paul was expressing the concerns of most libertarians who want to have better relations with Russia, who think that the idea of a summit was a great idea,” said Brian Darling, a former aide to Paul.

He also noted that Paul’s support for taking away Brennan’s security clearance is not surprising at all, given that Paul famously filibustered his nomination to serve as CIA director in 2013, speaking on the Senate floor for nearly 13 hours in protest.

But Alvin S. Felzenberg, a presidential historian and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communications, said Paul’s defense of the Helsinki summit was surprising.

“It’s kind of an odd thing for him to make apologies” for Trump, Felzenberg said. “It’s a tremendous paradox.”

He pointed to Trump’s sympathetic comments about Putin, “who jails journalists and perhaps kills journalists and is curtailing Russian citizens’ freedom of movement and freedom of communication.”

“For a libertarian senator to favor lie detector tests, surveillance of people working for the government, and the other things he’s called for, I find it a paradox,” Felzenberg added. “Another libertarian is Flake, and he’s not saying any of these things and he came from the Goldwater Institute, which is very libertarian.”

Flake, who is not seeking reelection, has emerged as one of Trump’s most vociferous critics in the Senate GOP conference.

“The vast majority of libertarian scholars, intellectuals, policy analysts and the like view Trump far more negatively than not,” said Ilya Somin, a libertarian thinker and law professor at George Mason University specializing in constitutional law, who noted that Trump’s positions on trade, immigration and nationalism clash with libertarian thought.

“I think the issue of government spending is also a big one, leading to libertarian hostility or at least skepticism about Trump,” he added.

He also pointed to Trump’s appointment of Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsGOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status MORE, a strong proponent of the federal war on drugs, as attorney general and the president’s “racist and xenophobic rhetoric” and “threats to take action against people who criticize him” as other points of friction with most libertarians.

Paul’s allies point to the similarities between Trump and Paul on other areas of foreign policy.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq and U.S. military intervention in Libya in 2011, although those claims have come under some skeptical scrutiny. Trump also criticized former President Obama’s Syria policy, urging him to focus on fixing America instead of attacking Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Paul has also long supported cutting U.S. foreign aid to Pakistan, something that the Trump administration did earlier this month.

Darling, Paul’s former aide, also pointed out that while the senator has defended Trump in high-profile instances, he has often voted contrary to the president.

A legislative scorecard compiled by FiveThirtyEight.com, a website that specializes in statistical analysis, found that Paul voted with Trump only 74 percent of the time, the lowest percentage of the Senate GOP conference.

Outside of the daily policy debates that dominate Washington, Trump and Paul have forged a personal friendship. Before Trump ran for president, he helped fund Paul’s first medical mission to Guatemala with a contribution to the University of Utah.

They have golfed together many times since Trump won the 2016 presidential election.

“Sen. Rand Paul considers President Trump a personal friend. Their relationship predates either one of them running for the presidency. From increased engagement around the world, to cutting regulations and taxes at home, to ending futile nation-building exercises around the world, they have often found areas of mutual agreement,” said Sergio Gor, Paul’s deputy chief of staff.