Ron Paul: Rand 'did his very best,' but Trump was 'distraction'

Rand Paul “did his very best” during his failed White House campaign, but Donald Trump proved to be a distraction from the Kentucky senator’s message, his dad, former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, said Tuesday.

Highlighting the difference between his last White House bid in 2012 and his son’s run in 2016, the elder Paul noted that conditions change with every election. Ron Paul suspended active campaigning in May 2012, while Rand Paul suspended his effort just two days after the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest of the Republican primary.


“The demagogues are out there,” Ron Paul said, presumably alluding to Trump in response to a caller’s question during his appearance on C-SPAN. “The anger over ISIS makes a difference. People get more concerned. But I don’t think the freedom movement got as much coverage. I can’t explain exactly why.”

Rand Paul struggled to gain traction in a crowded Republican field that was dominated by Trump. His non-interventionist policies, coupled with terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, late last year likely also contributed to his campaign’s demise.

“Rand did his very best, but we have to say that the one individual who was able to get the attention, not for good, sound political reasons, but Trump got the attention and the media loved him and he drew the crowds and it was a distraction, you know, from concentrating on individual liberty as a solution to our problems and pointing out why big government is the problem,” Ron Paul said.

Rand Paul has said he will support the Republican nominee, while his father will support the Libertarian ticket — more so for what it stands for than for who's on the ticket.

“I just can’t, you know, say I’m really enthusiastic about the ticket. But the Libertarian Party stands for the nonaggression principle, and that means that you and I cannot use aggression to get our way, and you can’t use the government to get your way by using force,” he said on C-SPAN. “And that principle is sound on the Libertarian Party, and the more votes they get, the more votes there will be for the nonaggression principle, and that’s as far as I go because I’m a just little bit frustrated with all the individuals running and the discussion going on.”