Bobby Jindal slams Rand Paul as unfit to be commander in chief

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal lashed out at Sen. Rand Paul for his recent comments about the Islamic State, saying the presidential contender is unfit to be commander in chief and is taking the “weakest, most liberal Democrat position” when it comes to fighting the militant group.

Using unusually harsh rhetoric and an unusual forum, Jindal posted a statement condemning Paul on Wednesday on his “office of the governor” website.


“This is a perfect example of why Senator Paul is unsuited to be Commander-in-Chief,” Jindal said. “We have men and women in the military who are in the field trying to fight ISIS right now, and Senator Paul is taking the weakest, most liberal Democrat position. It’s one thing for Senator Paul to take an outlandish position as a Senator at Washington cocktail parties, but being Commander-in-Chief is an entirely different job. We should all be clear that evil and Radical Islam are at fault for the rise of ISIS, and people like President Obama and Hillary Clinton exacerbate it.”

The statement from Jindal, who is also a likely GOP presidential contender, came after the Kentucky Republican suggested Wednesday morning that hawkish members of his party were to blame for the rise of the Islamic State, also called ISIL or ISIS.

Paul said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that “ISIS exists and grew stronger because of the hawks in our party who gave arms indiscriminately and most of those arms were snatched up by ISIS.”

Jindal, bristling, responded, “It has become impossible to imagine a President Paul defeating radical Islam and it’s time for the rest of us to say it.”

The Paul camp pushed back in a statement.

“It’s ironic Gov. Jindal would level such a charge when he flip-flops on crucial issues like Common Core and national security, and he has cratered his own state’s economy and budget,” said Paul senior adviser Doug Stafford. “Senator Paul is the only Republican running it seems who is willing to learn from our mistakes in the Middle East in order to keep us safer and stronger. The American people are looking for a candidate who can express a coherent viewpoint, something Gov. Jindal and many other candidates have been unable to do thus far.”

Timmy Teepell, an adviser to Jindal, had a response to Paul’s response: “What we’ve learned today is that Sen. Paul is to the left of President Obama and Hillary Clinton on foreign policy. It is the kind of blame-America rhetoric we normally only hear from Hollywood celebrities and Al Jazeera commentators. Senator Paul is a one-term senator, with no executive experience, and we all know how that has worked out in the current administration.”

Paul, a libertarian-leaning senator, has long tussled with more hawkish members of his party over foreign policy and national security.

Jindal, who backs a more muscular approach, has generally avoided singling out Paul in such strong terms. But the Republican base has grown increasingly supportive of tough talk on terrorism and “radical Islam.” A spokeswoman for Jindal didn’t respond when asked why he was able to make a statement related to presidential politics on a government website.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, who is announcing his presidential bid on Wednesday, also dismissed Paul’s comments, saying in an interview with ABC News that “I would expect to hear that from maybe Bernie Sanders. I don’t expect to hear that from someone running for the Republican nomination.”