Rand Paul gives Trump props for opposing the Iraq War

Rand Paul has found common ground with Donald Trump on Iraq.

Paul (R-Ky.), who battled against Trump in the Republican presidential primaries, is now lavishing praise on the Manhattan billionaire for being against the Iraq War from its inception — a false claim Trump has repeatedly asserted that further unraveled after a candidate forum on foreign policy on Wednesday night.


“From the very beginning, Donald Trump has said that he questioned the Iraq War,” Paul told CNN’s Wolf Biltzer on Thursday.

“And so that gives me some consolation that Donald Trump would be a better commander-in-chief because he at least had the foresight to see the Iraq War led to a destabilization of the area and Hillary Clinton was on the other side of that.”

Trump’s comment during NBC's Commander-in-Chief Forum — that he never supported the Iraq War — was widely criticized for its inaccuracy. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s team and journalists pointed to discrepancies between what he told “Today” host Matt Lauer and radio host Howard Stern in a 2002 interview, first unearthed by BuzzFeed, in which he responded “Yeah, I guess so” when asked if he supported the invasion of Iraq.

Paul, a Kentucky senator who has been vocal about his opposition to the Iraq War, also drew contrast to Hillary Clinton’s support of the congressional vote while campaigning during the Republican primaries, stating, “Unlike Mrs. Clinton, had I been senator at the time of the Iraq War, I would have never voted for it, and it troubles me that we were sold the war on false pretense.”