http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/249825-rand-paul-attributes-trumps-rise-to-a-loss-of-sanityJuly 30, 2015, 02:54 pm
Rand Paul attributes Trump's rise to a 'loss of sanity'
By Jesse Byrnes
Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) is attributing GOP rival Donald Trump's rise in the polls to a momentary "loss of sanity."
"I think this is a temporary sort of loss of sanity, but we're going to come back to our senses and look for someone serious to lead the country at some point," Paul said told CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer on his show, when asked about a new national poll showing Trump still atop the crowded GOP field.
Paul pointed to the extensive media coverage of the controversial candidate.
"Television works, Wolf," said Paul. "If you would give some other candidates time from 8 in the morning to 8 at night, all day long, every day for three weeks, I'm guessing some other candidates might rise as well."
Paul lamented the lack of any network "going gaga" over his own policy ideas, including a recently unveiled tax plan.
Paul had previously criticized Trump's coverage, saying that he is getting "a billion dollars worth of free advertising."
Trump drew 20 percent support in a Quinnipiac poll released Thursday, ahead of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Jeb Bush, while Paul tied with several candidates for fourth place in the poll, taking 6 percent.
"I think what they are is they're hungry for someone who will tell them the truth and say Washington is broken and we really have to start over, have term limits, wash the place," Paul said of Trump's supporters.
"But we also have to have a serious discussion about how we're going to do it," he added.
The Kentucky lawmaker also hit out at the celebrity real estate tycoon's repeated vow to build a wall along the nation's southern border to deal with illegal immigration and "have Mexico pay for it."
"I think simply saying the Mexicans are going to pay for it ... we're not going to fix the national debt by saying the Mexicans will pay for it," Paul said, calling for more serious proposals.
