Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that he believes lawmakers should work together to achieve common ground in order to put out the fires that have erupted as a result of intense political back-and-forth and inflammatory rhetoric.
During a Tuesday interview with Kentucky's WLAP-AM, Rand told radio host Leland Conway that he was worried that there "is going to be an assassination" as a result of the expanding political divide between Democrats and Republicans.
Paul, who believes that the ramped-up rhetoric is partly a result of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's hearings and subsequent confirmation, said that it's important for lawmakers to set the example and choose their words wisely.
"I really worry that someone is going to be killed and that those who are ratcheting up the conversation ... they have to realize that they bear some responsibility if this elevates to violence," Paul told Conway.
For an example, Paul recalled how he was viciously assaulted by his neighbor in 2017.
He also pointed to the June 2017 shooting at a congressional baseball practice, in which House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) was shot and seriously injured.
"These are people that are unstable. We don't want to encourage them,” Paul said. "We have to somehow ratchet it down and say we're not encouraging them that violence is ever OK."
Paul also touched upon Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and his July comments urging people to "get up in the face of some congresspeople" if they want to end homelessness.
"I think what people need to realize is when people like Cory Booker say 'Get up in their face,' he may think that that's OK,” Paul explained. "But what he doesn't realize is that for about every 1,000 people who might want to get up in your face, one of them is going to be unstable enough to commit violence."
You can listen to the full interview here.
