Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) claimed late Thursday that roughly 20 Republican senators are privately critical of President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade war with China, but are too afraid to voice their dissent publicly.
In an interview with Politico’s Dasha Burns on The Conversation, Paul stated that senators from farm states, who historically support free trade, are “grumbling” over the fallout of the tariffs, which have hit U.S. farmers particularly hard.
He specifically cited China’s cut-off of U.S. soybean purchases, noting that Beijing imported no U.S. soybeans in September 2025—a zero figure not seen since 2018.
READ: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul Says He ‘Will Support’ Paying Federal Employees But Draws Line On Debt
“The tariff war with China has led to this,” Paul said, before explaining their silence: “They don’t have the guts, because it’s their president, and frankly, they’re afraid. They’re afraid that he will do to them what he’s trying to do to me.”
Paul’s remarks follow a recent escalation in his feud with the President, with Trump attacking the Kentucky Senator on Truth Social last week, writing, “He was never great, but he went really BAD! I got him elected, TWICE (in the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky!), but he just never votes positively for the Republican Party. He’s a nasty liddle’ guy.”
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