A day after former Daily Show host Jon Stewart and 9/11 responder John Feal came on Fox News and eviscerated him and fellow GOP Sen. Mike Lee for blocking the reauthorization of the 9/11 victims' compensation fund in the Senate, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) appeared on Fox to return fire.
And not only did the Kentucky lawmaker toss a lot of insults Stewart’s way, but Paul also claimed he should be lauded as a hero for holding up additional funding for 9/11 victims.
“I know Jon Stewart,” Paul told Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Thursday. “Jon Stewart is sometimes funny, sometimes informed. In this case, he’s not funny nor informed.”
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Asserting that he always asks for “pay-fors” in all funding bills, even ones for disasters, the libertarian senator said Stewart’s name-calling exposes him as a “left-winger” before accusing the 9/11 victims’ advocate of being “part of the left-wing mob that is not using his brain.”
“It's really disgusting,” he continued. “He pretended for years when he was on his comedy show to be somebody that could see both sides and see through the B.S., now he is the B.S. The B.S. meter is through the roof when you see him calling people names and calling people an abomination when I'm asking for something reasonable.”
Cavuto would go on to press Paul about his support for Trump’s massive tax cut, asking him if it was OK to not pay for the tax breaks but not 9/11 funding. Paul brushed that off by noting he wanted a “paygo provision” added but his colleagues voted it out. He then went on to accuse Stewart of “telling a lie” about his support for deficits.
Moments later, after saying he was one of the few people in Congress who cares about balancing the budget, Paul then demanded that he be celebrated for his principled stand.
“I'm trying to have a debate in our country about whether or not deficits matter and whether or not we should offset new spending,” he exclaimed. “I think I should be commended and loudly cheered for being one of the few fiscally responsible people up here.”
Paul concluded: “And I think we ought to set the record straight. Because Jon Stewart can't just have a free pass to lie. He's a celebrity and thinks facts don't matter.”
