Fox Business host Kennedy asked Ron Paul on Wednesday to address the similarities between Paul and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), whose presidential campaign, Kennedy noted, has much support from young people as did Paul’s presidential campaigns.
Paul responded that Sanders is a principled individual — just as Paul was in presidential campaigns and as a Republican US House of Representatives member from Texas. This, Paul suggests, appeals to young people who are “idealistic” and “willing to listen to different viewpoints” instead of being “locked in place” in political views as “middle aged and older people” more often are. The appeal of the two candidates to young people also arises, Paul suggests, from young people believing Paul and Sanders “are telling the truth” and “are not just giving them a lot of political talk.”
Yet, while Paul says Sanders is a fellow principled individual, Paul also says in the interview that Paul and Sanders’ differing principles lead them to take some very different stands on some matters. Zeroing in on foreign policy and militarism, Paul mentions Sanders gave support for US wars in Libya and Kosovo, as well as for “all the military budgets.” While acknowledging that Sanders did not vote for the Iraq War, Paul concludes that Sanders otherwise “basically votes with the neoconservatives.”
Watch the complete interview, in which Paul also discusses the effort to require Apple to help the US government overcome iPhone security measures including encryption, here:
For a look into Paul and Sanders’ appeal to younger voters, check out the New York Times reporting, based on exit polling, of Paul in the 2012 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary winning 46% of 18-to-29-year-olds’ votes (with Mitt Romney among the several candidates finishing a distant second with the age group at 26% support) and Sanders in the 2016 New Hampshire Democratic primary winning 83% with voters in this age group versus 16% support for Clinton. Paul placed second in his primary with 23% of the vote, trailing winner Mitt Romney by 16%. Sanders placed first in his primary with 60% of the vote, leading Clinton by 22%.
Paul is the chairman and founder of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.
