Rand Paul has implied his Republican rival Donald Trump is a closet Democrat – leading the businessman and party frontrunner to point out that he recently beat the Kentucky senator at golf.
Paul is running an ad in the key primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire showing interview footage of Trump from 1999 over foreboding music.
“In many cases, I probably identify more as a Democrat,” Trump says in the footage. “It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans.” In another clip, he says: “Hillary Clinton, I think, is a terrific woman.” Another shows him backing universal healthcare.
Trump responded with a statement to reporters. “Rand Paul is doing so poorly in the polls he has to revert to old footage of me discussing positions I no longer hold,” he said, adding: “Recently, Rand Paul called me and asked me to play golf. I easily beat him on the golf course and will even more easily beat him now, in the world of politics.”
The attack ad comes as the latest polls in Iowa show Trump gaining ground, with 22% of likely Republican voters leaning toward the real estate mogul. Pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson is his closest competitor, with the support of 14% of likely Republican voters.
