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Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) left social media users scratching their heads after he marked Festivus––a made-up holiday during which people can air grievances about others that served as the theme of a Seinfeld episode––with a series of tweets taking aim at a host of political figures, including President Donald Trump and Mick Mulvaney, who will serve as Trump's acting White House Chief of Staff, beginning in 2019.
GOOD MORNING! Welcome to everyone’s favorite holiday, #Festivus! https://t.co/bZEUyPID1b— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545569979.0
I’ve got a lot of problems with you people, and now you’re gonna hear about them! https://t.co/sahSMrsdml— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545569979.0
Paul chose to start with "a grievance against the entire foreign policy establishment of Washington DC, who 2 years ago were swearing that Donald Trump was going to start multiple nuclear wars or something."
"Now they are mad because he is STOPPING two wars," he said, referring to the president's announcement that he would pull troops out of Syria and Afghanistan.
I’m going to start out with a grievance against the entire foreign policy establishment of Washington DC, who 2 yea… https://t.co/6Z5hZlADw2— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545569980.0
Now they are mad because he is STOPPING two wars. How about you just admit you hate the President, love war and ha… https://t.co/75E50vl9L1— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545569980.0
Paul then turned his attention to those in Washington who "have literally NO IDEA how to spend your money."
He took on the National Institute of Health...
Everyone's favorite frisky quail are back with an update on how much money they blew: https://t.co/vbTkpbKVOc https://t.co/KjPL4fKzvt— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545591722.0
$2 mil on daydreaming: https://t.co/vbTkpbKVOc https://t.co/IWWDtK3kyg— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545591723.0
USAID...
The USAID spending $18 mil to promote tourism....in Egypt: https://t.co/vbTkpbKVOc https://t.co/SBbcUU2uDi— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545591723.0
The National Science Foundation...
$75k to throw lizards around with a leaf blower: https://t.co/vbTkpbKVOc https://t.co/nA7ZA9JdCA— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545591723.0
This also served as an opportunity for him to spotlight foreign aid reports which show the U.S. government has been providing aid to the Chinese, who are the U.S.'s top lender.
So of course, instead of fixing waste like this and reforming government, the geniuses in Congress decided to have… https://t.co/INvo289j9B— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545591724.0
Speaking of which, buried in the foreign aid reports last year, I discovered something — we give foreign aid to Chi… https://t.co/OBlxwIeP9H— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545591724.0
Along the way, he took shots at Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mick Mulvaney, and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).
I came to say Happy #Festivus to my friend Elizabeth Warren. Cant find her. https://t.co/A4xSJ7Nf7x— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545594628.0
Let’s start with POTUS I like the President, I honestly do. I know people don’t believe me. But the man seems to ha… https://t.co/jVKD1JPw7v— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545594629.0
Congress has now decided to shut down the government because they aren’t spending enough money. I got suspicious wh… https://t.co/FJH39Sl6tE— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545594631.0
Social media users did not know what to think of Paul's tweet storm.
This thread, you guys. Rand Paul was apparently visited by the Ghost of Christmas Wut. https://t.co/zK0prPp1xt— shauna (@shauna) 1545637588.0
LOL what is going on with this thread and Rand Paul's account? https://t.co/YASAEqPJiQ— Cassandra💞 (@Cassandra💞) 1545664302.0
@RandPaul Some people can’t handle their eggnog.— Michael Scoggins (@Michael Scoggins) 1545656263.0
@RandPaul This is so incredibly embarrassing. I’m embarrassed for you.— SK ⚡️ (@SK ⚡️) 1545655036.0
@RandPaul I would say don’t quit your day job, but you should definitely do that, too. 😖— Tess (@Tess) 1545654637.0
For all of the oddball tweeting, Paul did conclude the thread by praising Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), with whom he worked to pass hemp legislation and criminal justice reform bills.
I’m going to close today by talking about something good that has happened. In fact, some could even say it has its… https://t.co/eKzO02XQiS— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545594633.0
But then we exchanged some thoughts about bipartisan reforms we could work on, like hemp legalization and criminal… https://t.co/4cx0uzd4cV— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545594634.0
All kidding aside, they were important, bipartisan reforms that show how Washington CAN work if people from both si… https://t.co/RvFGCdUJpN— Senator Rand Paul (@Senator Rand Paul) 1545594634.0
Paul's tweets came a day after he appeared on television to praise President Trump's Syria decision, though how it influenced the rest of his tweets is anyone's guess.
“It should not be the job of America to be replacing regimes around the world,” Paul told CNN’s Jake Tapper on "State of the Union." “This is what President Trump recognized in Iraq―that that was the biggest foreign policy disaster of the last several decades, and he’s right.”