Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) managed to infuriate conservatives nationwide this week after launching yet another attack on President Trump’s America First trade policy—this time blaming tariffs for the rising cost of living. The Kentucky senator’s remarks, which came during an appearance on Bloomberg TV, were widely seen as a tone-deaf betrayal of the very working-class Americans Trump’s policies were designed to protect.
In a video he proudly posted on social media, Paul claimed, “The #1 concern I hear at home isn’t shutdowns… It’s tariffs. Tariffs are crushing Kentucky’s family farms, bourbon makers, and shipping jobs. Bad policy hurts working Americans. We don’t need more government handouts — we need freedom to trade and compete.”
That comment drew immediate backlash from conservatives, who accused Paul of carrying water for globalist corporations and liberal talking points. One user fired back, “Just retire already, you RINO. All you do is vote with Democrats anyway.” Another pointedly asked, “Not Obamacare? Not the border invasion? Not Biden’s inflation destroying the middle class? Or are you just worried about your big bourbon donors?”
Paul’s comments came in response to a question about Obamacare subsidies—yet, instead of holding Democrats accountable for their endless entitlement spending, he used the opportunity to swipe at Trump’s tariffs.
“The extent to which there’s concern about Obamacare subsidies expiring at the end of the year,” Paul said, “this is the talk, and the President says that he’s in discussions with Democrats about this, is that the off ramp.”
Then, pivoting sharply, Paul claimed, “The number one issue I encounter wherever I go in the state is that tariffs are killing the family farm. Tariffs are killing the bourbon industry. Tariffs are killing the cargo transport industry.”
Critics quickly noted that Paul ignored the bigger picture: President Trump’s tariffs were never meant to be permanent—they were leverage to protect American jobs, rebuild domestic manufacturing, and end decades of disastrous globalist trade deals that hollowed out the country.
Rather than acknowledging that Trump’s policies helped revive key industries and bring supply chains back home, Paul accused tariffs of “hurting small businesses” and even complained that “we don’t have the funds to give everyone subsidies.”
Paul also offered his usual libertarian wish-casting about healthcare reform, suggesting people should buy insurance “through Costco.” “I’d like to make it legal for you just to go to Costco, and then somebody from Costco would negotiate for 44 million members and have the leverage to drive prices down,” he rambled—an idea many dismissed as unserious and detached from political reality.
Conservatives didn’t mince words in their response. One Trump supporter on X summed up the sentiment: “Rand Paul is more worried about China’s hurt feelings than American workers. Trump’s tariffs are why we have factories reopening and jobs returning. Kentucky deserves better.”
President Trump’s allies were equally blunt, noting that the senator’s comments could not have come at a worse time. As the administration works to restore fair trade and defend America’s economic independence, Paul seems intent on siding with the same globalist elites who shipped jobs overseas for decades.
The bottom line? While Trump fights to defend the American worker, Rand Paul is still whining about bourbon exports. Once again, the senator from Kentucky has shown that when it comes to putting America First—he’s standing on the wrong side.
