President Donald Trump, speaking at the Detroit Economic Club on January 13, 2026, shifted from economic topics to criticize fellow Republicans for what he described as disloyalty and opposition to his policies. In a pointed segment of his remarks, Trump singled out Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), labeling him a “stone cold loser” while highlighting his past support for Paul’s electoral campaigns.
The president’s comments came amid discussions of party unity, where he contrasted Democrats’ cohesion with what he called a “genetic thing” in Republicans that leads to internal dissent. “They don’t have a Rand Paul that votes against everything,” Trump said. “I got him elected twice. He was a stone cold loser. I went to Kentucky where I won by a lot. I did a rally for him. And then I did another rally and then I won the second time. He won and he was against all the time. It is crazy. I don’t get it.”
Trump’s focus on Paul appears tied to recent Senate actions. Just days earlier, on January 8, 2026, Paul was one of five Republicans who voted alongside Democrats on a resolution to limit the president’s war powers following a U.S. military operation in Venezuela. The measure aimed to restrict further unauthorized strikes, reflecting Paul’s long-standing libertarian views on foreign intervention and military engagement. Trump, in his speech, referenced the Venezuela action directly, praising it as “the most successful attacks, probably the most talented, most brilliant technically attack that we have had maybe 100 years,” and questioning why some Republicans opposed it despite its success.
The relationship between Trump and Paul has been a mix of alliance and friction over the years. Trump endorsed Paul during his 2016 Senate reelection bid and again in 2022, holding rallies in Kentucky to bolster his campaigns. Kentucky, a state Trump carried decisively in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, saw Paul’s victories in those cycles, with Trump crediting his involvement for turning around Paul’s prospects. However, Paul has frequently diverged from Trump on issues like foreign policy, including opposition to regime change efforts and military actions abroad, such as recent stances against potential interventions in Iran and Venezuela.
In the same portion of the speech, Trump extended his criticism to other Republicans, including former Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), whom he mentioned reluctantly due to being in “his sort of the territory” – a nod to Romney’s Michigan roots, where his father, George Romney, served as governor. Trump also called out Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) as “disasters,” and referenced an unnamed senator from Indiana, saying such figures “vote against everything” without clear reasons. Murkowski and Collins were among the Republicans who joined Paul in the Venezuela war powers vote, along with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and potentially one of Indiana’s senators, Todd Young or Mike Braun.
The broader context of Trump’s remarks was to emphasize Democratic unity as a strength, noting, “The one thing they stick together. They don’t have some of the people that we have. It is a genetic thing. It is something in the blood. We got some real losers.” He argued that this internal Republican opposition hinders progress, even on initiatives he deems highly effective, like the Venezuela operation.
