Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, continued his war of words with Sen. John McCain of Arizona on Monday, not naming the senator but referring to “some old guy” who once labeled Mr. Paul a “wacko bird.”
Speaking in Michigan, Mr. Paul called Rep. Justin Amash, a Michigan Republican who endorsed Mr. Paul’s presidential campaign on Monday, a “fellow wacko bird.”
“Remember there was some old guy, I can’t remember his name, who called us wacko birds,” Mr. Paul said, The Washington Post reported. “How wacky is it to be somebody who actually believes in the Constitution and all of the Bill of Rights?”
“I won’t tell you who it is, but it’s a senator from Arizona,” Mr. Paul said.
In a 2013 interview with the Huffington Post, Mr. McCain referred to Mr. Paul, Mr. Amash and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas as “wacko birds” before later apologizing. Mr. Cruz, like Mr. Paul, is running for president in 2016.
But Mr. McCain, the GOP’s 2008 presidential nominee, and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is weighing a presidential run in 2016, have continued to tangle with Mr. Paul over foreign policy.
Mr. Paul recently said people like Mr. McCain and Mr. Graham were “essentially the lapdogs” for President Obama’s foreign policy endeavors.
Mr. McCain responded by saying Mr. Paul is the “worst possible candidate” running for president in 2016 on national security, with Mr. Graham echoing the remarks and saying Mr. Paul has been even worse on foreign policy than Mr. Obama.
“The guy that calls us ’wacko birds’ has a sidekick that’s always by his side,” Mr. Paul said Monday, according to Bloomberg.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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