Presidential hopefuls take every chance they can to promote their platform, even if it means taking an interview on a network that doesn't traditionally align with their views.
On Wednesday morning, Rand Paul, who officially announced his run for the White house on Tuesday, was interviewed by Savannah Guthrie on "The Today Show." Paul has a history of getting into it with anchors, and it didn't take long for things to get heated between the two.
It started when Paul expressed his dismay towards what he thought was a leaning question from Guthrie regarding his foreign policy views. Here's the initial exchange, via NBCNews.com:
GUTHRIE: You have had views in the past on foreign policy that are somewhat unorthodox, but you seem to have changed over the years. You once said Iran was not a threat, now you say it is. You once proposed ending foreign aid to Israel; you now support it, at least for the time being. And you once offered to drastically cut...
PAUL: No , before we go -
GUTHRIE: Well wait, wait, wait.
[CROSSTALK]
GUTHRIE: So I just wonder if you've mellowed out.
PAUL: Yeah, why don't we let me explain instead of talking over me, OK? Before we go through a litany of things you say I've changed on, why don't you ask me a question: Have I changed my opinion?
The two calmed down for a few moments before Guthrie took Paul's advice and asked the question the way he explained would be more acceptable. Things quickly got out of hand again.
GUTHRIE: Have you changed your opinion?
PAUL: That's a better way to approach it.
GUTHRIE: Okay. Is Iran still not a threat?
PAUL: No, no, no, you've editorialized it. No no no no, listen. You've editorialized. Let me answer a question. You asked a question and you say 'Have your views changed?' instead of editorializing and saying my views have changed.
When Guthrie pressed Paul on Iran being a potential threat to America, which he said publicly eight years ago, the politician responded calmly:
"2007 was a long time ago and events do change over long periods of time... what I would say is that there has always been a threat of Iran gaining nuclear weapons and I think that it's greater than it was many years ago. I think we should do everything we can to stop them," Paul said.
Check below for a video of the entire interview.
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