Rand Paul on Monday picked up where he left off after last week’s televised GOP debate with an op-ed aimed at discrediting Donald Trump.
The Kentucky senator attacked the New York entertainer/businessman in the opening moments of Thursday’s Republican presidential primary debate, charging that Trump was in the tank for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton after he refused to pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee in 2016, if that person isn’t him. Paul reprised his targeting of Trump on Monday in an op-ed published by the Independent Journal Review headlined: “Don’t Fall for a Fake Conservative.”
“Donald Trump is showing he isn’t suited to lead the country, and I think we all need to discuss why,” Paul wrote.
Trump, who has led the 17-candidate field for the GOP nomination for weeks, shrugged off Paul’s attacks during the debate. Over the weekend, despite being disinvited from a popular conservative gathering in Atlanta over remarks he made about Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, who moderated the debate who asked Trump tough questions, the real estate tycoon was claiming victory and predicting that his support would only grow in coming days.
In the latest RealClearPolitics average, Trump led with 24.3 percent. Paul was running eighth with 4.5 percent.
Disclosure: The author’s wife works as an adviser to Scott Walker.
