Paul calls domestic surveillance ‘bulls—‘

“Bulls—,” the Republican presidential hopeful told an estimated 200 students Thursday at George Washington University.

“There’s already clamor to now demand more surveillance of the American people, [that] we would be safe if you would just give up more of your liberty,” Paul said.

“When they stand up on television and say the tragedy in Paris means you need to give up your liberty [and] we need more phone surveillance, bulls—!” he added to overwhelming applause.

A domestic political debate over the use of certain intelligence-gathering tools such as the bulk collection of Americans’ phone records has resurfaced in the days following the deadly attacks by Islamic State militants in France. Paul, a libertarian firebrand and staunch opponent of the National Security Agency’s domestic spying program, claims that using the terror attacks to justify the expansion of invasive government programs is “hogwash.”

“There is a danger in this war on terrorism — and make no mistake, we do have to defend ourselves — that we give up the very liberty that separates us from them,” Paul told the crowd of undergrads.

The Kentucky senator continued, “What separates a civilized people from barbarians? It’s believing in the individual, believing in privacy and believing in a government that leaves us alone.”

“Anybody here just want to be left alone?” Paul asked. “I think what we need to win is a ‘leave me alone’ coalition. In fact, I’m part of the ‘leave me the hell alone’ coalition.”

Paul also noted that the French parliament approved a new surveillance measure last spring, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks that killed 17 people, to enable intelligence agencies in France to wiretap citizens’ phones and review their emails without permission from a judge.

“Did it stop the attack in paris? Not one iota,” Paul, who is eighth in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings.