Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday that savings from buying foreign-made goods "allows working-class people to have savings to get a television set, to go on vacation, to buy gas for their truck." | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Rand Paul: Buying American isn't necessarily the right choice

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday there’s a reason why buying American-made goods is not always the best option: cost.

“You know, I think all of us have this goal to buy American, but we have to think this thing through,” Paul told Jake Tapper on CNN’s "State of the Union."


Tapper was pressing Paul on why President Donald Trump touted "Made in the USA" goods all week but still hires foreign workers at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. Tapper also noted that Trump's company manufacturers a bevy of Trump-branded clothing products abroad.

The libertarian-leaning Paul said global trade, the same kind that candidate Trump slammed for “ripping off” the U.S., allows Americans to buy cheaper goods, stretching their dollars so they can then pay for things like a vacation or a new vehicle.

“It used to be a shirt, just a regular button-up shirt, might be $20, $25, and still might be in places. And at Wal-Mart, it's $7," Paul said. "And so that savings, though, allows working-class people to have savings to get a television set, to go on vacation, to buy gas for their truck. So trade is really a good thing.”

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As a candidate, Trump defended his decision to manufacture some of his own products abroad, especially apparel, characterizing himself as someone who was simply making smart business decisions based on the costs.

In response to Paul's answer, Tapper noted that the members of Mar-a-Lago, where "the membership fee is $200,000 a year," were not in the same situation as average American workers.

Paul, who ran against Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, did concede that using foreign workers at Mar-a-Lago was "different," but he did not elaborate.

