Supporting Donald Trump or Ted Cruz would be unthinkable to Ron Paul, who rejected the candidate roll of the Republican Party on Tuesday.
Paul will vote in the election, he told CNN, but it will not be for Trump.
“I see him as a very, very strong authoritarian,” Paul said. “I think he’s misdirecting the people where we should be looking for the answers.”
Nor would Ted Cruz be a viable alternative, had Cruz not suspended his campaign after the Indiana primary.
“He’s way too authoritarian … I see him more as a theocrat,” Paul said. “He’s too willing to use bombs, just as Trump.”
Since his son Rand left the GOP nomination process, Paul’s libertarian perspective has had short shrift in the 2016 election. His unexpected popularity in the 2008 and 2012 Republican nomination process couldn’t be continued by Rand, and the “liberty movement” was crowded out by the popularity of Donald Trump.
In 2016, Paul won’t look to the Democrats or Republicans.
“I would vote on principle and make my vote count. Probably vote for a Libertarian, an independent candidate,” Paul said.
It appears that he won’t be the only one. As news spread that Cruz dropped out of the race, Google Trends recorded a large surge of interest in the Libertarian Party. For third parties, Donald Trump might be key for their growth.
