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Rand Paul would like to be president of the United States...and a journalist?
The Kentucky senator sure was quick to tell Today's Savannah Guthrie how to do her job when she brought up his changing political stances during an exclusive live interview Wednesday morning.
In the tense back-and-forth, the aspiring world leader (and son of Ron Paul) tersely cut Savannah off when she mentioned how his "somewhat unorthodox" viewpoints on foreign aid and Iran as a potential threat had differed through the years.
Savannah wouldn't stand for the interruption, though, and after a few tense moments of crosstalk, she said to Rand, "So I just wonder if you've mellowed out."
"Yeah, why don't we let me explain instead of talking over me, OK?" he sassed back, then rather rudely tried to mansplain to the professional how he thought she should do her job. "Before we go through a litany of things you say I've changed on, why don't you ask me a question: 'Have I changed my opinion?'"
She complied. "Have you changed your opinion?"
"That's a better way to approach it," he replied.
"OK," said the Today co-anchor. "Is Iran still not a threat?"
"No, no, no, you've editorialized it," said Rand. "No, no, no, no, listen. You've editorialized. Let me answer a question. You asked a question and you say 'Have your views changed?' instead of editorializing and saying my views have changed."
Well, OK. Here's what Rand said: "My opinion has always been that we shouldn't borrow money from China to send it to any country—Pakistan, Israel or any other country. But I also realize that things will have to be done gradually, and if we are going to try to eliminate or reduce foreign aid, why don't we start with the countries that hate us, that burn our flag. And the one thing that is true is that Israel doesn't burn our flag, and so I haven't proposed removing aid from Israel b—"
"But you once did," Savannah pointed out.
"But I still agree with my original precept," said Raid, "which is—let me answer the question. I still agree with my original statement years ago that ultimately, all nations should be free of foreign aid because we shouldn't borrow money to do it."
As for his past statements about Iran not being a threat, and how his viewpoint on that has changed today? "2007 was a long time ago, and events do change over long periods of time," said Rand. "What I would say is that there has always been a threat of Iran gaining nuclear weapons, and I think that's greater than it was many years ago."
Savannah tried once again to ask "the question I was getting at in general," saying, "When you came to Washington and realized, 'I'm going to run for president,' have you mellowed or tempered your views at all [since then]?"
Watch the Today clip above to see his response the second time around!
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