Rand Paul on reporters questioning his flip-flops: 'That isn't journalism'

(Image credit: Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

last updated 8 April 2015

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has some journalism advice for journalists: Don't ask me about my flip-flops.

No, Paul isn't talking about the footwear you can buy through his online store — only $20! — but rather about how reporters keep asking him to explain how his positions have shifted over the last few years. In an interview Wednesday with The New York Times, Paul called out reporters for trying to pin him down on those apparent contradictions.

Mr. Paul said he gets tired of questions with the built-in premise that he has contradicted himself. Questions, he said, like "'O.K., well we understand that you've been beating your wife for years and you've flip-flopped on 25 different issues and you used to believe this and you used to believe that,'" he said. "That isn't journalism." [The New York Times]

Earlier in the day, Paul chastised NBC's Savannah Guthrie and suggested a "better way" for her to conduct interviews after she asked him to explain his perceived political evolutions. Also Wednesday, he repeatedly declined to outline his position on abortion in a "testy" interview with The Associated Press.

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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.