The panel on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” played a little game of “Fact or Fiction” Monday and host Joe Scarborough revealed his disbelief in Kentucky Senator Rand Paul’s ability to win the Republican nomination for president in 2016.
Asked by co-host Mika Brzezinski whether Paul as nominee in 2016 will be fact or fiction, Scarborough responded quickly and assuredly, “Fiction, fiction, fiction.”
“He’s going to do well in Iowa,” Scarborough elaborated. “He’s going to do well in New Hampshire. He may do pretty well in South Carolina. It’ll turn to the midwest and he will be his father’s son.”
Paul’s father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), ran for the nomination in 2008 and 2012 and fell short both times.
The panel, which included columnist Eugene Robinson and television personality Donny Deutsch, then contemplated which potential Republican candidate could beat out Paul for the GOP nomination.
Deutsch immediately named Mitt Romney, explaining that if he had “the demeanor of the guy who lost” and ran on the fact that he was “right” about what he said in his 2012 campaign, Romney could rise above Paul as the Republican party’s choice.
Robinson agreed with both Scarborough and Deutsch, refuting the idea that Paul could capture the nomination.
“Who will beat him? Somebody,” the liberal columnist asserted. “I just don’t see him as a nominee. And, if push comes to shove, here comes Mitt.”
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released last week, Rand Paul has a slight lead in the field of potential GOP candidates for president in 2016. However, Romney’s name is not included in the poll.
What’s more, a slightly earlier poll shows that 45% of voters believe America would be better off had Romney won over Obama in 2012, while only 38% say the country would have suffered more.
Watch the “Morning Joe” clip below, via Washington Free Beacon.
