Former Texas Republican congressman Ron Paul, father of 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul, told Newsmax TV Wednesday that front-runner Donald Trump could realistically become the GOP's presidential nominee because the U.S. election system is not fair and polls are rigged.
When asked whether Trump could clinch the nomination, Paul said, "At this point, it certainly is realistic," but cautioned, "If I had a limited sum of money ... I probably wouldn't invest a whole lot."
Paul, a three-time presidential candidate, suggested that Trump's success is due to misleading polls pushed by the media. "All this talk for this last year-and-a-half and there hasn't even been a vote cast. It's all been done by polling which for the most part is generally rigged. They pick people, they boost them up, it's entertainment and Trump really fit into that quite well. It's entertainment the major networks control."
Paul noted that his son, who is hovering near the bottom of most polls and boycotted the most recent debate after he allocated to the undercard debate, may surprise everyone, as he could perform well in the caucus states.
"I think he may well surprise everyone, because he has a good organization and caucus states are different. That's where we always did well," Paul said.
Regarding the endorsement that tea party favorite and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gave Trump on Wednesday, Paul said he thought it "was interesting politics."
"Everybody thought it was pretty neat, but she just doesn't overly impress me. There was a time when I thought she possibly could be president of the United States. I don't think she qualifies for that. I don't think Trump needed her to tell you the truth, but it does help him build momentum. It certainly doesn't hurt him and it probably hurts [Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas] more than it really helps Trump."
The media picked up and ran with Paul's admission that Trump could conceivably beat his son, prompting Paul to issue the following statement on Thursday: "As usual the media can't get anything right. I responded to a poorly worded question, agreeing that it was 'realistic' at this point that Trump could win, not that he will win. In fact, I then proceeded to say not one vote has been cast and this has all been trumped up by the media and rigged polls for entertainment. Rand is going to surprise everybody because freedom is popular and when it matters voters won't cast their lot with an authoritarian like Trump," he said, according to Politico.
Democratic political strategist Andrew Feldman, principal of Feldman Strategies, seems to agree with Paul over the insignificance of polls, particularly in Iowa, where voters caucus on Feb. 1.
"The media loves talking about the polls over and over," Feldman told The Hill in a new interview. "The reality is the polls don't count as votes."
