
GOP Senator Rand Paul says Republicans should apologize to former President Barack Obama “for complaining that he was spending and borrowing too much.”
“It’s funny that people say, ‘Well, Washington Republicans and Democrats never compromise and can’t get along.’ That’s actually the opposite of the truth,” Paul told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto.
.@RandPaul to Neil: Republicans and Democrats compromise every day of the year to spend money we don't have pic.twitter.com/BgdQJedcnm
— Neil Cavuto (@TeamCavuto) August 5, 2020
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Sen. Paul: Obama ‘was a piker compared to their borrowing that they’re doing now’
“Republicans and Democrats compromise every day of the year to spend money we don’t have,” Paul said.
“So we were already running a trillion dollars short just with our normal budgetary expenses for the year,” Paul continued. “We added three trillion [with the CARES Act]. Now they’re talking about another one to two trillion. We’re going to borrow $5 trillion in five months.”
Paul said, “I remember when conservatives complained about George W. Bush borrowing $5 trillion in eight years … [Obama] was a piker compared to their borrowing that they’re doing now.”
The libertarian-leaning senator’s comments come in the wake of Democratic leaders and White House officials trying to design a so-called “Phase 4” COVID-19 aid bill.
I’m old enough to remember when Republicans criticized President Obama for doubling the debt. Now Republicans join hands with Democrats to explode the debt. Hypocrisy anyone? https://t.co/QmSgmmnn9i
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 21, 2020
Paul warns ‘They might just lose this election because they’re acting like Democrats now’
Paul said the massive spending could hurt Republicans politically in the upcoming election.
“The politicians around here say, ‘Oh, no, we just have to buy more voters by flooding the economy with money,” Paul said.
“Well, guess what?” he asked. “What if conservatives or libertarians that vote Republican decide, ‘The hell with it, you’re acting like Democrats, we’re either staying home or voting for a third party.”
“You know what? They might just lose this election because they’re acting like Democrats now,” Paul foresaw.
On the issue of unemployment benefits, Paul said Republicans were “once again making President Obama look conservative.”
Trump’s Deficits Are Racing Past Obama’s via @forbes https://t.co/eGikjWCkJW
— Caryn Maenza (@CarynMaenza) August 3, 2020
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Paul says pandemic lockdown created a ‘government-mandated depression’
“When you increase the benefits and you pay people, [and] the government pays them more for not working than they were getting for working, you institutionalize unemployment,” Paul said. “Even President Obama didn’t do that.”
Paul said the only way to improve the economy and get it out of a “government-mandated depression” is to “get rid of the government mandates and let the economy function as it did normally. We had a great economy until the government mandated this depression.”
“You can’t keep doing this,” Paul said. “We can’t keep borrowing another trillion dollars every couple of months.”