Paul suggested John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. Paul: Let's trade Dems, not Taliban

FORT WORTH, Texas — Sen. Rand Paul on Friday likened Democrats to the recently released Taliban detainees at Guantánamo Bay in a speech here at the Texas GOP convention.

“Mr. President, you love to trade people,” the Kentucky Republican and likely 2016 contender said to laughs, a reference to the deal made for the return of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.


“Why don’t we set up a trade? But this time, instead of five Taliban, how about five Democrats? I’m thinking John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, couldn’t we send them to Mexico?”

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He nodded to a Marine being detained in Mexico before making his proposal.

Paul’s suggestion came after he criticized the deal struck to bring back Bergdahl, who had been held captive by the Taliban for five years and was freed in exchange for the five prisoners.

“I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve been a little bit annoyed with the president,” Paul said. “Releasing five Taliban senior officials is not only against the law, it’s illegal and wrong and he should never have done it.”

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Asked about his comments in a news conference after the speech, Paul replied, “It was a joke. Except for Nancy Pelosi, I was serious about her.”

When pressed, he added: “Well, I mean, it’s humor, and I hope there’s room for humor. I thought it was funny. It was meant to be humorous.”

Turning more serious, Paul said some circumstances could allow for a “reasonable swap” — such as if the Taliban were “laying down arms” and planned to become “part of democratic policy in Afghanistan.”

But at this stage, he said, he’s uncomfortable with the national security and legal implications of the deal.