SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is ramping up his anti-Washington message as he tries to compete for support in the third earliest voting state.
The Republican presidential candidate told an intimate group of supporters at a local burger joint Friday that he “may be the most unpopular person in Washington” following his recent attempt to block passage of the budget agreement between congressional leaders and the White House.
“I made them stay awake until 3 o’clock in the morning,” Paul quipped as supporters raised their milkshakes and cheered. “At 2 o’clock in the morning they came over to my desk and said, ‘You’ve spoken your peace, right?’ And I said, ‘Aren’t I guaranteed one more hour?'”
“They looked at me horrified and angry and said some words I can’t repeat with the kids here,” he added.
“But we shouldn’t blindly go on our way and say no one protested as we destroyed our country,” Paul said, adopting a more serious tone.
The Kentucky senator, who holds the No. 10 spot in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings, continued on his usual tirade against what he dubs the “unholy alliance” between big-spending Republicans and Democrats in Washington. He joked that about his colleagues engaging in a “secret handshake” as they vote for bills that increase spending.
“I say that somewhat facetiously. But it’s probably not so secret because everyone knows they do it,” he said.
Paul was joined by South Carolina Reps. Trey Gowdy and Mick Mulvaney at the event Friday. Mulvaney endorsed the libertarian-leaning senator in late September, citing his frustrations with the Republican establishment at the time.
“They don’t have any idea the damage they’re doing to the Republican Party. I called up Rand and said, I’ve had enough,” Mulvaney said in his statement of endorsement.
