Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has spoken out in defense of an aide who spent years as a pro-secessionist activist and radio shock jock.
In an interview with The Huffington Post published on Thursday, Paul described his aide, Jack Hunter, as “incredibly talented,” while at the same time distancing himself from some of Hunter’s past comments.
“I’m not a fan of secession,” Paul said. “I think the things he said about John Wilkes Booth are absolutely stupid. I think Lincoln was one of our greatest presidents. Do I think Lincoln was wrong is taking away the freedom of the press and the right of habeas corpus? Yeah.”
According to transcripts of monologues brought to light by The Washington Free Beacon this week, Hunter’s radio commentaries in the 2000s included assertions that Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth’s heart was “in the right place,” that white people are subject to a “racial double standard,” and that a “non-white majority America would simply cease to be America for reasons that are as numerous as they are obvious – whether we are supposed to mention them or not.”
Paul told The Huffington Post that Hunter had never acted in a discriminatory way, and chalked up Hunter’s old comments to youth and showmanship.
“People are calling him a white supremacist,” Paul said. “If I thought he was a white supremacist, he would be fired immediately. If I thought he would treat anybody on the color of their skin different that others, I’d fire him immediately.”
