Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has arguably always been ahead of the curve. He was one of the first to speak about manipulated scientific data regarding the efficacy of masks. He bravely challenged Dr. Anthony Fauci and exposed a lot of information about him that damaged Fauci’s credibility. And, shortly before two Republican Primary presidential candidates suspended their campaigns, Paul rose once again to express concern over the candidacy of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Earlier this month, before the Iowa Caucus, Paul sent shock waves through the political world by posting a video on X, formerly Twitter. The senator professed his adamant opposition to Haley’s campaign. He provided his reasons for the disapproval and announced the creation of the “#NeverNikki” campaign. In this exclusive interview with Sen. Paul, he explained his decision to publicly declare his opposition to Haley.
“Yeah, I’ve been watching it for a while, and we made the final decision to do it this week; we actually made the decision a couple of days before Chris Christie got out,” Paul told me. “Chris Christie getting out does add to the need for this because I think some of his votes will go to Nikki Haley.”
One of Paul’s concerns about Haley is her previous comments regarding foreign affairs. Paul cited Haley’s hawkish statements regarding military conflicts and her desire to spend billions of dollars in taxpayer money on foreign aid. It’s a sentiment that many Republican voters have also expressed as voters have grown tired of endless wars and endless funding to foreign countries.
“I think the idea that we would have a nominee who is saying things like ‘we don’t need a department of defense, we need a department of offense’ and saying she is a ‘huge fan of U.N. policies and a huge fan of foreign aid,’ these are sort of the opposite of what most libertarian conservatives believe,” Paul said. “And I think it’s important that people know, and I wanted people who follow me and follow the work I do in Congress to know, that this is not somebody I support and that people need to look long and hard at her record and the things she’s been saying.”
Paul elaborated and cited recent foreign policy quagmires in the Middle East, with which he disagreed with Haley’s position. He emphasized it was a point of concern that Republican voters should be worried about.
“I am worried that anytime Donald Trump was for returning our troops home, either in Afghanistan or Syria or other places, she’s been on the other side of these issues,” Paul said. “I think she probably represents more of the Biden-McConnell wing of the Party, and I say that purposely that there are people in our Party that really do side with McConnell and Biden on sending more money to Ukraine, getting involved in most of the foreign wars without any permission from Congress. I just don’t think that’s why any kind of thoughtful libertarian should consider her.”
“The Ukraine funding, I think, is something that’s important for voters in the Republican primary. Some may still want to fund it,” Paul said. “Senator McConnell and his supporters want to keep funding really without limit. But I think most of the primary voters are actually in another place. I would say the majority of Republicans really think we shouldn’t be borrowing money to send to Ukraine at this point.”
Recent public opinion polls confirm Paul’s assertions. Republicans have grown weary of the infinite funding for Ukraine. It’s a realization that many Republicans, such as Haley, ignore. It reflects the schism in the GOP and shows that many of their elected officials are out of touch with the reality of voters. Additionally, Paul mentioned that much of this could stem from a compromised set of values predicated on a misguided allegiance to the Military Industrial Complex.
“I think the fact that she’s been out on all of this for a couple years and made $8 million from the Military Industrial Complex,” Paul said. “I think that gives her a conflict of interest. You know McConnell and others have made the argument that the Ukraine War is actually great for developing American arms merchants. It makes arms merchants bigger and stronger,” Paul told me. “I think it’s a reprehensible position to argue that it’s a good idea and war is a great thing because it can enrich the people who make the arms. And I think anybody who argues that is arguing the position that is an immoral position.”
“But the fact that she’s got $8 million from working with different arms manufacturers, I think, clouds her judgment or shows that basically her judgment will be in favor of enriching those at the expense of being thoughtful about trying to avoid war,” Paul said.
“[Secretary of State Antony] Blinken made the argument in front of our committee, and basically McConnell has championed this argument as well, and I believe Nikki Haley has as well, that actually sending arms and sending money to Ukraine is good for America somehow because it enriches our arms manufacturers and I think that’s a terrible position,” Paul said.
Paul also worries about Haley’s commitment to upholding our country’s liberties and protecting our republic’s values. Previously, she made baffling comments questioning her commitment to free speech and her knowledge of American history. Haley stated that she wanted all users who commented on social media to be verified and registered so they could be identified. However, such comments counter the very principles and ideas on which the country was founded. Paul elaborated on this and explained that Haley might need a refresher course in American History, particularly the American Revolution era.
“To me, it was alarming when I heard her come out and say that everybody needs to register on the internet,” Paul told me. “I think it wasn’t a very thoughtful comment, and the idea that she really wasn’t aware of our history that virtually every Founding Father wrote anonymously, almost every one of them wrote under pen names, and they did it because they were fearful of government, fearful of the British government and they lived in peril.”
“Sam Adams did this for years and years, published in the Boston Papers under pseudonyms, and the fact that she would think it would not be a big idea to make people register?” Paul said. “How much do you think people want to register their speech, register their identities to speak? So I think that shows just a lack of thoughtfulness on her part.”
Paul also elaborated on the division within the political party between its voters and the so-called establishments and elites. He explained why this is the impetus for Haley’s candidacy and why it’s the opposite of what many in the working class do not want from a Republican presidential candidate.
Quite frankly, Paul raises many valid points that so many in the GOP still don’t get, understand, or refuse to acknowledge. Moreover, there’s a general disdain for these voters, as if they are somehow less intelligent than others and less accomplished. It’s a political arrogance that has turned voters away from establishment candidates like Haley.
“One of the things about the Republican Party is that in recent years, we’ve really grown our working-class support, our middle-class support. And the super-wealthy elites value what they think is calmness and stability, and they don’t care too much about debts or taxes or things like that,” Paul said. “They just have decided that they just want somebody at the helm that I think is more malleable to their wishes and I think Nikki Haley has shown that she will side with the large corporations and do their bidding. But I think that when you talk to the actual voters out there in the Republican Primary, you’re going to find a great deal of them actually don’t side with the big corporations and with the elites and the establishment.”
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And as a result, Paul’s “Never Nikki” movement was conceived. The senator makes excellent points and seems more in tune with Republican voters than many of the GOP’s donors or establishment elitists. Because, as a former politician originally from Kentucky once said, this is a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
Voters have spoken over the last decade or so, and it’s time Republicans in office start prioritizing the interests of the American people, not globalist aristocrats or affluent donors. That begins with embracing Paul’s “Never Nikki” movement.