Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who defended President Donald Trump against accusations of racism, said Monday he was targeted by people wishing violence against him over his statement.
"Twitter was filled with hatred toward me, wishing me violence," the Kentucky Republican told Fox News' "Fox & Friends." "I read two dozen tweets wishing me violence. I read a couple dozen more calling me a racist."
Paul, an opthalmologist who often travels out of the country to provide surgeries, told NBC "Meet the Press" anchor Chuck Todd on Sunday that when his organization asked Trump, while he was a private citizen, to support trips to Central America and Haiti, he was "a large financial backer of both medical mission trips."
Meanwhile, the government funding deadline is Friday, and Paul said he had thought the immigration debate would be settled separately from the spending issue.
"I've seen the immigration debate, I've seen in six or seven years in Washington, being sabotaged by Democrats because they are unwilling to compromise," Paul said. "They pass and say we want what we want."
Paul said he is willing to compromise on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but "we do have to have rules that we do enforce" when it comes to immigration.
If Democrats are "willing to have new rules, new border security, ending chain migration, having more merit-based system to bring people into this country, more work-based system, I'm all for that," Paul said. "If they're not willing to compromise, they are going to sabotage it themselves."
But calling Trump a racist "kind of destroys the dialogue," Paul said.
"If Democrats only care about destroying the dialogue and care about playing race card in election of 2020, we'll do this for three more years now," the senator added. "I think people would rather have a civil discussion, have some disagreements, have honest debates."
Paul said he has openly debated Trump and opposed some of his appointments, the "overreach on FISA and other intelligence. I have honest disagreements with the president. But I think calling him names and letting it degenerate to the schoolyard stuff doesn't do anybody any good."
Paul said he does support the FISA, or Federal intelligence Surveillance Act, when it is used to watch foreign people in foreign lands, but not when Americans are caught up on the surveillance.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.