4:01 p.m. ET, January 2, 2019
Rand Paul defends Trump, says Romney's views are a “minority opinion”
From CNN's Ted Barrett
Republican Sen. Rand Paul, speaking with the press this afternoon on a conference call, criticized incoming Utah Sen. Mitt Romney’s op-ed in the Washington Post, saying Romney’s view was the “minority opinion" in the GOP conference, even as some Republican senators oppose Trump on certain policies, such as trade.
“I think this is bad for the Republican party and bad for any kind of ability to work together in the Senate to get things done. When you take the time to attack someone’s character, when you essentially call them dishonest and lacking in integrity, that’s a pretty harsh critique of a person as opposed to policy. As many of you know, I’ve opposed the President, actually more than any other Republican in the Senate if you look at the voting record, and yet I keep good relations with him because I treat the President with dignity, I treat the President with respect.”
Paul went on to describe Romney’s op-ed as “virtue signaling,” which is that Romney is trying to show how virtuous he is compared to Trump and predicted it would back fire on the Romney.
“I think the new senator has misjudged. Some in the media will love to hear this because some in the media, frankly, don’t like the President. So, if you don’t like the president already, you love to hear this kind of criticism from a Republican,” he said. “In Utah, I really think this kind of sentiment doesn’t represent Utah that well.”
Paul declined to criticize Trump’s personal attacks on his political opponents.