Possible Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul continued to poke his potential opponent Hillary Clinton over Benghazi during a speech to GOP activists and elected officials in Reno, Nevada, Saturday.
“Hillary Clinton got cable after cable to protect the consulate in Benghazi,” said the Republican senator from Kentucky, according to the Reno-Gazette Journal. “And what did she do? Nothing.”
“I say, Hillary Clinton’s behavior of not providing adequate support should absolutely preclude her from ever being considered as president,” Paul continued, provoking cheers from his listeners.
Unsurprisingly, the Democratic National Committee fired back with a response Sunday, describing Paul as “deft at political primary trolling” but ultimately “disqualified himself from any serious consideration [for president].”
Paul has repeatedly focused on Benghazi as a prime reason for which former secretary of State Clinton should not be elected president, both in speeches and in television interviews.
The Kentucky lawmaker didn’t reserve all of his criticism for Clinton, though. During a private interview with the Reno-Gazette Journal, he also knocked Mitt Romney, who lately has been surrounded by buzz about a third bid for president.
“So you are already seeing people, some of his biggest backers, coming out and saying, ‘You know, [Romney] has had his chances,'” alleged Paul. “There were interviews yesterday at the Republican National Committee meeting in San Diego — one after another — saying he’s had his chance.”
Paul also claimed that he would be able to capture the Mormon vote in Nevada even if up against Mitt Romney, who is himself a Mormon.
“The Mormons I have met throughout my career and throughout my life have always been conservative, libertarian-leaning folks,” explained Paul. “So to tell you the truth, I think that there is an opportunity for some [of my] ideas to resonate [with them]. The Mormon population of Nevada will be much like the rest of the population in thinking, ‘Gosh, didn’t we already try this once and it didn’t work?'”
