Rand Paul fires back, calls McCain 'a little bit unhinged'

Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday called Sen. John McCain "unhinged" for accusing him of supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I think he makes a really, really strong case for term limits,” Paul (R-Ky.) said Thursday morning on MSNBC. “I think maybe he's past his prime. I think maybe he's gotten a little bit unhinged."


McCain (R-Ariz.), along with Senate Democrats Ben Cardin of Maryland and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, pushed for a vote Wednesday on a treaty to include Montenegro in NATO membership. But Paul blocked the measure, leading McCain to slam Paul on the Senate floor.

"The senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin," McCain said. "You are achieving the objectives of trying to dismember this small country, which has already been the subject of an attempted coup."

The small Balkan nation is in the final stages of the NATO accession process, a move fiercely opposed by Russia. Twenty-three of the 28 NATO member nations have voted in favor of Montenegro joining the alliance. The treaty is expected to garner wide support in the Senate.

Paul also cited a Mother Jones article that used “angry McCains” to measure the Arizona senator’s calls for American intervention abroad.

“If we put active troops and got involved in combat where McCain wants us to be, they put a little angry McCain on the globe, on the map,” Paul said. “It’s virtually everywhere.”

Connor O'Brien contributed to this report.