Rand Paul Accuses Bill Clinton Of 'Predatory Behavior'
Paul, who is weighing a run for president in 2016, was agreeing with a comment his wife, Kelley, made in a Vogue profile last year. Kelley Ashby said that Clinton's behavior should make voters think twice about his return to the White House, even as a first spouse.
"Well, you know, I mean, the Democrats, one of their big issues is they have concocted and said Republicans are committing a war on women," Rand Paul said on "Meet the Press" Sunday. "One of the workplace laws and rules that I think are good is that bosses shouldn't prey on young interns in their office.
"And I think really the media seems to have given President Clinton a pass on this. He took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office. There is no excuse for that, and that is predatory behavior, and it should be something we shouldn't want to associate with - people who would take advantage of a young girl in his office."
He added, "Now, it's not Hillary's fault. But it is a factor in judging Bill Clinton in history."
"Meet the Press" host David Gregory asked Paul if he thought it should be an "issue" in voters' judgment of Hillary Clinton in 2016. Paul said he was "not saying that," but he repeated that Bill's place in history should be judged partly on the affair - and that it undercuts the Democratic theme of a Republican "war on women."
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who followed Paul's appearance on "Meet the Press," immediately pushed back on his comments.
"Hillary Clinton has established her own reputation, her own name, and her own basis for running for president, should she choose to do it," Durbin said.
"And the issues that were raised by my colleague, Sen. Paul, have been litigated in the public square for over a decade. For goodness sakes, let's judge Hillary Clinton based on her talents and her vision of America, should she choose to run for president."