#Rand Paul says choose Trump, not Biden, ‘if you hate war’ in RNC 2020 speech

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Rand Paul speaking during at the RNC tonight.
Republican National Convention/Handout via REUTERS

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday said Joe Biden “consistently called for more war,” and may do so again if he defeats President Trump.

“If you hate war like I hate war, if you want us to quit sending $50 billion every year to Afghanistan build their roads and bridges instead of building them here at home, you need to support President Trump for another term,” Paul said in a speech on the second day of the 2020 Republican National Convention.

Paul, a libertarian-leaning Trump backer, often applauds Trump’s foreign policy, after routinely condemning Obama administration interventions in the Middle East.

“President Trump is the first president in a generation to seek to end war rather than start one. He intends to end the war in Afghanistan. He is bringing our men and women home,” Paul said. “Compare President Trump with the disastrous record of Joe Biden, who has consistently called for more war. Joe Biden voted for the Iraq War, which President Trump has long called the worst geopolitical mistake of our generation.”

“I fear Biden will choose war again,” Paul added. “He supported war in Serbia, Syria [and] Libya. Joe Biden will continue to spill our blood and treasure. President Trump will bring our heroes home.”

Paul also focused on tax policy and criminal justice reform in his speech, but spent most of his time on foreign policy and military interventions.

The senator, an eye doctor, also has backed Trump’s denunciations of the FBI’s Russia investigation, tying it to his concern about civil liberties and mass surveillance. Paul recently urged Trump to pardon exiled whistleblower Edward Snowden.

“I’m supporting President Trump because he believes as I do that a strong America cannot fight endless wars. We must not continue to leave our blood and treasure in Middle East quagmires,” Paul said.