Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) displayed remarkable indifference to the news that Russians definitely tampered with the 2016 American presidential election, saying on CNN Sunday that “we all do it.”
“I think really we mistake our response if we think it’s about accountability from the Russians,” Paul told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “They are another country, they are going to spy on us, do spy on us. They are going to interfere in our elections, we also do the same…We all do it.”
He cited that the United States has allegedly tampered in other nations’ elections 81 times, saying “all countries that want to interfere in elections and have the ability to, they try.”
He added that the U.S. needs to step up protections of the election process, and blamed both Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama for exacerbating tensions with Russia that led to the 2016 hack.
Paul ended his interview by saying that NATO’s protection of sovereign countries and Russia invading them is a “chicken and egg” situation, voicing the Russian perspective that an expanding NATO is a threat.
Last week, Paul was one of two senators to vote against a motion affirming the importance of a strong and united NATO.
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— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 16, 2018
