Rand Paul: ‘Many Republicans Have Come Up to Me And Said, ‘You Know What, Bolton Is a Bomb-Thrower”

Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” while discussing his opposition to President-elect Donald Trump possibly appointing either former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani or the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton as secretary of state, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said, “Many Republicans have come up to me and said, you know what, Bolton is a bomb-thrower. He’s not this even keel with a world view that we want over there.”

Paul said, “I think Giuliani and Bolton are out there on the extreme. I don’t think they’re very diplomatic, and I think you want the chief diplomat to be diplomatic. Bolton might be better as a secretary of war, but he is certainly not a diplomat or someone who acts in a diplomatic way or thinks that diplomacy might be an alternative to war.”

He added, “I’s a very close vote. There’s 52 Republicans. Some of the people that have been put forward I think are not guaranteed to get any Democrat support, so they lose my support and a couple other Republicans. Many Republicans have come up to me and said, you know what, Bolton is a bomb-thrower. He’s not this even keel with a world view that we want over there. We want someone a little more rational or reasonable. So I think that there are several potential Republican votes against someone like a Bolton, possibly Giuliani. The other thing Giuliani will stir up is it will be a hornet’s nest on all the financial stuff.”

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