Though he has not been in the political limelight in the past few weeks, Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul is clearly following along with fellow contender Donald Trump’s media frenzy of the past couple of months. Paul spoke to the Torch’s Robert Rees on Thursday morning about his take on the GOP front-leader.
“I think what’s happened right now is celebrity has sort of jostled the race a little bit,” said Paul. “But I think people are going to ask the question, can Trump be a real conservative if he was for Obamacare before he was against it; can he be a real conservative if he’s for raising taxes; and can he be a real conservative if he’s been using eminent domain to let the government take property from a private property owner and give it to a big corporation.”
Paul also touched on a few current issues dominating the news, including one in his home state of Kentucky, where county clerk Kim Davis has been refusing to issue gay marriage licenses because it violates her religious beliefs.
“You know, when you sign something, it’s a part of you and it shows your sign of approval,” said Paul. “The definition of marriage changed after she was elected to office. So I don’t know, I tend to cut her a little bit of slack and say you know what, if she has a religious problem, why can’t we try to accommodate that and just put the name of the county on there and get a notary of public to sign it.”
The Kentucky Senator acknowledged that he has been out of the spotlight and out of Iowa in the past month, (he was doing humanitarian work in Haiti), his campaign message remains clear and he is confident he is still a strong contender in the race.
“I am a concerned citizen, and someone who truly believes in the Constitution and the oath of office that I take and that we need to defend it,” said Paul. “And I think there’s a lot of people out there who are well-intentioned, but when push comes to shove will give up your liberty and exchange it for security, and I’m one who says we don’t have to give up an ounce of our liberty.”
