Rand Paul says if 'you're in favor of World War III,' Chris Christie is your candidate

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul sparred over Russia and Syria at Tuesday's GOP debate, with Paul saying Christie's support of a no-fly zone shows he is "reckless" and "in favor of World War III."

Christie said that if elected, he wouldn't hesitate to "shoot down" any Russian planes that entered the no-fly zone if Moscow was "stupid enough to think that this president was the same feckless weakling that the president we have in the Oval Office now is." Paul scoffed at Christie, saying: "I think if you're in favor of World War III, you have your candidate." Paul said Americans want a leader with "judgment, not someone who is so reckless as to stand on the stage and say, jumping up and down, 'I'm going to shoot down Russian planes.' Russia already flies in that airspace; it may not be something we're in love with, that they're there, they were invited by Iraq and Syria to fly in that airspace."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.