Washington — Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York said he was approached at a bar by GOP Sen. Rand Paul’s “inebriated” son, who made antisemitic comments toward him.
Lawler said he was at the Tune Inn in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night having dinner with a friend and a reporter for the news outlet NOTUS, who first reported the interaction, when he was approached by William Paul.
“Paul decided to interject into the conversation and start accosting me about if Thomas Massie loses, it’s because of my people,” Lawler recounted Wednesday, referring to a Kentucky Republican who is in a tight primary against a Trump-backed challenger. Rand Paul and his son are also from Kentucky.
Lawler said he asked Paul, “Who is ‘my people’?”
“And he yelled out, ‘Jews,'” Lawler told reporters. “And I asked him, ‘You think I’m Jewish?’ And he said, ‘Yes.'”
Lawler said he told Paul he was not Jewish and that Paul responded, “Oh, I’m sorry to accuse you of that.”
The congressman said Paul then went on a “10-minute diatribe about Israel, about Jews, about [Jewish GOP megadonor] Paul Singer and accusing Jews of being responsible for so many things, playing right into the typical antisemitic tropes that so many people rely on.” Paul also said he “hates Jews, hates gays and doesn’t care if they die,” according to Lawler.
Lawler said the interaction ended shortly afterward and Paul gave him the middle finger before tripping on his way out of the door.
Lawler said he had not spoken to the GOP senator and had never met his son before.
When asked about the story later Wednesday, the senator told reporters, “I don’t have anything for you on that.” He did not respond when asked if he would reach out to Lawler.
In a post on X, William Paul apologized to the congressman.
“I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am. I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,” he said.
