The chief strategist for Sen. Rand Paul's now-defunct presidential campaign suggested today that Donald Trump's larger-than-life persona is to blame for Paul's poor showing in the 2016 Republican race.
After Paul announced Wednesday morning that he was dropping out of 2016 race due to his performance in the Iowa caucuses, his chief strategist, Doug Stafford, held a conference call with reporters, telling them that Trump "took all the oxygen out of the room" and dominated the discussion, drowning out Paul's message, reported the Daily Caller.
Stafford said Trump is a "larger-than-life outsider who commanded so much of the attention," which "really played into it being more difficult to get the message out than anyone anticipated."
Paul faced a "brand new environment, for most involved in presidential politics we've never seen anything like it," said Stafford, admitting it was "very difficult to have what you believe is a stronger message and a stronger candidate but you can't break through because celebrity became the largest thing," reported Reason.
The libertarian-minded Kentucky freshman senator came in fifth place in the Iowa caucus with about 4.5 percent of the vote, failing to reignite the movement that gave his father Ron Paul 21 percent of the vote in Iowa in 2012.
"Voters shift from time to time and what's most important to them is hard to capture," said Stafford, adding that he thinks Paul "finished well... but just not well enough that he had a good enough chance for the nomination."
Stafford said Paul was already back in Washington, D.C., for votes in the Senate.
Paul does not plan to make an endorsement in the GOP presidential primary, but will likely end up backing whoever the party nominates for president, according to CNN.
In announcing his withdrawal from the race, Paul said he plans to "continue to fight for criminal justice reform, for privacy, and your 4th amendment rights. I will continue to champion due process over indefinite detention."
