Sen. Rand Paul on Friday said he would support Donald Trump if he becomes the Republican presidential nominee, but he's not going to endorse any of the three remaining candidates in the race while the primary season is still going on.
"I think we never get the candidate we exactly want, unless you're the candidate," the Kentucky Republican told
The Cincinnati Enquirer on Friday during a press conference held during a visit back home.
Trump and rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich have backed out of earlier pledges to support the eventual GOP presidential nominee, but Paul, who ended his own campaign for the White House in early February, said Friday any Republican will be a better choice than Hillary Clinton.
"Think about it from this perspective," Paul said. "I'm from Kentucky, and Hillary Clinton recently said she would put coal miners out of business, and she would put coal companies out of business."
Paul is running for re-election to his Senate seat, and on Friday
pulled an April Fool's Day prank implying that he would have a "YUGE" endorsement, making a play from Trump's pronunciation of the word "huge." Later in the morning, though, Paul tweeted that he endorses "entropy," rather than a candidate.
Just before he dropped out of the race, however,
Paul said his "every waking moment" was dedicated to making sure Trump didn't get the nomination, as the party would be "slaughtered in a landslide" in the general election. But even at that time, he said he'd support Trump if he won the nomination.
And even though Paul leans libertarian, he has said he will not support Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson's campaign, as he has worked "very hard to make the Republican Party more libertarian."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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