Cut From Fox Debate, Rand Paul Turns To Alex Jones For Help

Paul Tells Jones' Audience “To Call The Republican National Committee” And Demand He Be Included In Debate

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul appeared on the program of leading conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to ask viewers to “call the Republican National Committee” and tell them “it's not fair to exclude me from the debate.”

Fox Business announced earlier this week that Paul would not be included in January 14's main Republican primary debate. Paul accused “the establishment in the Republican Party” for being responsible for his exclusion.

During a January 13 interview with Paul, Jones asked what his fans could do “to get you in that debate.” Paul responded by asking Jones' audience “to call the Republican National Committee and tell Reince Priebus that they need to allow all voices to be heard in the debate and that it's not fair to exclude me from the debate.” Paul also promoted his campaign website and Facebook account if “people want to make phone calls for us ... if people want to donate ... if people want to fly up to Iowa or New Hampshire.”

Jones is a well-known conspiracy theorist and one of the more extreme media personalities in the country. He believes the government was behind the 9/11 attacks, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, and the mass shootings in Aurora, Sandy Hook and Tucson (among others). He recently suggested the San Bernardino shooting was a “false flag.” Jones ultimately believes that a cabal of secretive global elites is working behind the scenes to, in the words of one of his films, “exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the 'elites' to live forever with the aid of advanced technology.”

During the interview, Jones told Paul he would make “the perfect president.” At one point, Jones suggested Paul would be a better president than Sen. Ted Cruz or Donald Trump, prompting Paul to attack Trump's conservative credentials. Jones previously hosted Trump, where the two heavily praised each other.

As Media Matters documented, Paul previously credited Jones for being a vital part of his 2010 Senate campaign. Jones endorsed Paul, turned out followers to his events, and partnered with Paul for fundraising, at one point crashing his website. Since Paul's election to the Senate, Jones has continued to serve as a key Paul booster, including endorsing him for 2016. 

In April 2015, Paul attempted to downplay his alliance with Jones and had recently been missing as a guest on the program. But with the primaries approaching, and his campaign struggling, Paul appears to have re-embraced the leading conspiracy theorist. 

Listen to Paul's full appearance here: