Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday likened fellow Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to the fictional character Gollum from “Lord of the Rings,” saying the GOP front-runner is motivated only by a thirst for power.
“One candidate on this national stage wants you to give him power,” Paul wrote on his Facebook page.
“He tells you he is rich, so he must be smart. If you give him power he claims he will fix America. … This race should not be about who can grasp the ring. Electing Gollum should not be our objective. This race should be about which candidate will best protect you from an overbearing government.”
The fictional Gollum is a slimy and twisted character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” fantasy novels who is driven mad by his never-ending quest to reclaim a ring that brings power to whoever possesses it.
Paul on Wednesday argued that Republican voters should look to the candidate who wants to take power away from the federal government, rather than one who wants it for himself.
“There is another tradition in America,” the 2016 hopeful writes. “A tradition that believes that power corrupts, and that our goal should be not to gain power but to contain power or limit Presidential power. Our founding fathers feared centralization of power. They wrote the constitution to restrain the accumulation of power by the government.”
“Trump is ignorant of this tradition, or worse yet, he is overtly opposed to the limited government tradition,” he continued. “I am the only one on this national stage who really doesn’t want power or dominion over you. I want to set you free, I want to leave you alone, and I want a government so small you can barely see it.”