Top 250 Rand Paul Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “The Founders never intended for Americans to trust their government. Our entire Constitution was predicated on the notion that government was a necessary evil, to be restrained and minimized as much as possible.”

— Rand Paul

2. “The Constitution was not written to restrain the citizen’s behavior, it was writtne to restrain the government’s behavior.”

— Rand Paul

3. “Foreign aid goes from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.”

— Rand Paul

4. “If you give up your rights now, don’t expect to get them back.”

— Rand Paul

5. “We have to think before we act.”

— Rand Paul

6. “America’s not the world’s policeman. Terrible things happen across the globe and it is beyond our means to right every wrong. But when, with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act.”

— Rand Paul

7. “If you hear me out, I believe you’ll discover that what motivates me more than any other issue is the defense of everyone’s rights.”

— Rand Paul

8. “If our freedom is taken, the American dream will wither and die.”

— Rand Paul

9. “We don’t need bigger government. We need to shrink the size of government.”

— Rand Paul

10. “How much liberty do with want to give up for a false sense of security?”

— Rand Paul

11. “Of strong importance to me is the defense of minority rights, not just racial minorities, but ideological and religious minorities.”

— Rand Paul

12. “I call myself a constitutional conservative.”

— Rand Paul

13. “I will not let the patriot act, the most un-patriotic of acts, go unchallenged.”

— Rand Paul

14. “Bipartisanship is not what is missing in Washington. Common sense is.”

— Rand Paul

15. “If congress refuses to obey its own rules. If congress refuses to pass a balanced budget. If congress refuses to read the Bills. Then I say, sweep the place clean, limit their terms, and send them HOME!”

— Rand Paul

16. “I do believe people ought to be left alone. I don’t care who you are or what you do at home or who your friends are or where you hang out, what kind of music you listen to, what you do in your home is your own business. That’s always been who I am. I am a leave me alone kind of guy.”

— Rand Paul

17. “There comes a time, in the history of Nations when fear and forgetfulness cause a nation to hesitate, to waver and perhaps even to succumb. When that time comes those who love liberty must rise to the occasion. Will you? Will you lovers of liberty, will you rise to the occasion?”

— Rand Paul

18. “The Stamp Act was a direct tax imposed on the colonies by King George III. This act inevitably led to the American Revolution. Just as the Stamp Act did in 1765, Obamacare should act as a wake-up call. Chief Justice Roberts provides us with a similar call to action.”

— Rand Paul

19. “I have a question, a question for the president: Do you hate all rich people, or just rich people who don’t contribute to your campaign? Do you hate poor people or do you just hate poor people with jobs?”

— Rand Paul

20. “I think what happened during the Great Depression was that African Americans understood that Republicans championed citizenship and voting rights but they became impatient for economic emancipation.”

— Rand Paul

21. “The First Amendment says keep government out of religion. It doesn’t say keep religion out of government.”

— Rand Paul

22. “Every child in every neighborhood, of every color, class and background, deserves a school that will help them succeed.”

— Rand Paul

23. “Do you hate poor people or do you just hate poor people with jobs?”

— Rand Paul

24. “Congress shall pass no law that exempts themselves!”

— Rand Paul

25. “The history of African-American repression in this country rose from government-sanctioned racism. Jim Crow laws were a product of bigoted state and local governments.”

— Rand Paul

26. “In a free society, we will tolerate boorish people, who have abhorrent behavior, but if we’re civilized people, we publicly criticize that, and don’t belong to those groups, or don’t associate with those people.”

— Rand Paul

27. “The great and abiding lesson of American history, particularly the cold war, is that the engine of capitalism, the individual, is mightier than any collective.”

— Rand Paul

28. “I say not one penny more to countries that are burning our flag.”

— Rand Paul

29. “We have a lot of politicians who have really small brains and really big hearts.”

— Rand Paul

30. “We live in a world, a medieval type of world, where someone can accuse you – through gossip and hearsay, and all of a sudden you’re supposed to respond to specific charges from people you don’t know, are not aware of who these people are, and you’re supposed to respond to their specific allegations?”

— Rand Paul

31. “I think it’s a conundrum. If we have no laws on this, people take it to one extension further, does it have to be humans, you know?”

— Rand Paul

32. “The power to tax and spend is restricted by the enumerated powers.”

— Rand Paul

33. “I’m being unfairly targeted by a bunch of hacks and haters.”

— Rand Paul

34. “A free society will abide unofficial, private discrimination, even when that means allowing hate-filled groups to exclude people based on the color of their skin.”

— Rand Paul

35. “Well, I think a handshake is something that honorable men do. Before we had contracts we had handshakes that expressed that we were making an arrangement that was based on our honor. And I don’t think I can shake the hand of someone who shows and lacks honor by attacking a man’s faith.”

— Rand Paul

36. “We have to have a more realistic foreign policy and not a utopian one where we say, oh, we’re going to spread freedom and democracy, and everybody in the Middle East is going to love us. They are not going to love us.”

— Rand Paul

37. “For liberty to expand, government must shrink. For the economy to grow, government must get out of the way.”

— Rand Paul

38. “No president has the right to say he is judge, jury and executioner.”

— Rand Paul

39. “Let’s start that conversation by acknowledging we aren’t going to deport 12 million illegal immigrants. If you wish to work, if you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you.”

— Rand Paul

40. “We should understand the limitations of war. We should understand the sacrifices our young men and women go through losing lives and limbs. And they should only do it for the highest of purposes.”

— Rand Paul

41. “Out of regime change you get chaos. From the chaos you have seen repeatedly the rise of radical Islam. So we get this profession of, oh, my goodness, they want to do something about terrorism and yet they’re the problem because they allow terrorism to arise out of that chaos.”

— Rand Paul

42. “We all either work for rich people or we sell stuff to rich people. So just punishing rich people is as bad for the economy as punishing anyone. Let’s not punish anyone. Let’s keep taxes low and let’s cut spending.”

— Rand Paul

43. “I don’t want to live in a nanny state where people are telling me where I can go and what I can do.”

— Rand Paul

44. “Someone is an ignoramus who would say that, ‘Oh, we had three hurricanes this year. This proves that somehow the climate is warming.’ The earth is 4.5 billion years old, and you’re going to say that we had four hurricanes and so it proves a theory?”

— Rand Paul

45. “I’m a Reagan conservative. Reagan did negotiate with the Soviets. But you have to negotiate from a position of strength.”

— Rand Paul

46. “Let’s means-test benefits – let’s means-test Social Security and Medicare and make the rich pay more for these benefits.”

— Rand Paul

47. “The callous use of general warrants and the disregard for the Bill of Rights must end. Forcing us to choose between our rights and our safety is a false choice and we are better than that as a nation and as a people.”

— Rand Paul

48. “I’m the third of five children.”

— Rand Paul

49. “If you’re white and you’re rich in the USA, if you get busted for drugs, you get a good attorney, and you in all likelihood serve no time. But if you’re poor, black, Hispanic, or poor and white for that matter, you can get put in jail.”

— Rand Paul

50. “I think a lot of things could be handled locally.”

— Rand Paul