X/William H. Paul
Sen. Rand Paul has spent years branding himself as the cool-libertarian conscience of the GOP — anti-war, anti-establishment, anti-everything Washington. But this week, the family name got dragged into the gutter after his 33-year-old son allegedly unleashed a booze-soaked anti-Semitic tirade at a Capitol Hill watering hole that sounded less like a political debate and more like a rejected scene from a dive bar fever dream.
According to NOTUS reporter Reese Gorman, the ugly scene exploded right in front of him while he was speaking with Rep. Mike Lawler at a Capitol Hill bar. Enter William Paul — apparently several drinks past good judgment — who barged into the conversation spoiling for a fight over the bitter Kentucky Republican primary involving Rep. Thomas Massie.
Massie, one of Rand Paul’s closest ideological allies on the libertarian right, has been under fire from President Donald Trump after repeatedly clashing with him on everything from military strikes to the Epstein files to Trump’s legislative agenda. Trump has thrown his support behind former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in what’s become an all-out MAGA civil war in Kentucky.
That apparently sent William Paul over the edge. Gorman reported that Paul interrupted the conversation to declare that if Massie loses, it would be because of “your people.”
“My people?” Lawler asked.
“Yeah, you Jews,” Paul replied.
Lawler then informed the senator’s son that he isn’t Jewish.
“Oh wow, I’m so sorry for calling you a Jew,” Paul shot back — a line that somehow managed to be both an apology and an insult at the same time.
And the trainwreck didn’t stop there.
According to the account, Paul continued rambling about Jews being “anti-American” and accused Lawler and his “Jewish supporters” of putting Israel ahead of the United States. Lawler reportedly pushed back repeatedly, calling the comments anti-Semitic and defending his support for Israel.
Eventually, after Lawler told him to “please leave us alone,” the younger Paul allegedly flipped him the middle finger before stumbling toward the exit.
“Did you just give me the middle finger?” Lawler asked. “I’m sorry, yeah, I did. I’m just really drunk. I’m going to leave,” Paul reportedly answered.
In what sounds like the perfect metaphor for the entire episode, he then knocked over his barstool and tripped over it on the way out. Because of course he did.
The story got even uglier after New York Post reporter Josh Christenson spoke with Lawler, who said the rant spiraled into explicit anti-gay rhetoric and conspiracy-laced Middle East commentary.
Lawler recalled Paul ranting that America was trying “to steal Iran’s land for the Jews” and “steal the West Bank,” before allegedly blurting out: “This war, it’s all about the gays and the Jews, and I hate them both, and I don’t care if they die.”
Not exactly the kind of thing Republicans want floating around while Democrats spend every election cycle accusing the GOP of extremism.
And here’s the kicker: this apparently isn’t William Paul’s first alcohol-fueled brush with chaos.
Back in 2015, while attending the University of Kentucky, he pleaded guilty to DUI after crashing his truck into a parked vehicle. Police described him as “belligerent,” noted a “strong odor of alcohol,” and said he failed sobriety tests.
Two years before that, he was arrested after allegedly assaulting a female flight attendant and was charged with disorderly conduct and underage drinking. Those charges were later dropped.
So when William Paul posted an apology on X just hours after the story broke, the reaction in political circles was less shock and more: here we go again. “Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am,” Paul wrote. “I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem.”
Fair enough. Getting help beats doubling down. But the episode is still a brutal embarrassment for a Republican Party already battling internal fractures over foreign policy, Israel, and the increasingly toxic online fringe that keeps bleeding into real-world politics.
As for Sen. Rand Paul himself? Silence.
While reporters sought comment about his son’s meltdown, the Kentucky senator spent Wednesday posting Senate hearing clips and promoting his wife Kelley Paul’s children’s books on social media — business as usual in Washington while another political family scandal burns through the news cycle.
