Rachel Maddow had some words of advice and admonition for GOP presidential contender Rand Paul on Thursday, after the senator took his days-old campaign to South Carolina in the midst of a heated national dialogue about the killing of an unarmed black man by a North Charleston police officer.
Despite billing himself as a maverick for criminal justice reform, Paul reportedly stayed silent on the shooting death of Walter Scott, which has reignited debate about police brutality and the disproportionate targeting of minorities, specifically black men. While the candidate did refer to Scott's death and officer Michael Slager's indictment on murder charges as a "tragedy" in a later interview with CNN, Paul failed to mention the police shooting while he was actually in the state where it took place.
And, as Maddow pointed out, the senator is now a presidential candidate -- which means everybody noticed.
"If you are a candidate for president...you will receive so much scrutiny from the people who are running against you, and by the press that is covering you all, that every single thing there is to be known about you will become known," Maddow said, highlighting the lack of scrutiny Paul has faced thus far.
“It’s gonna be really interesting to see how long does he get to keep getting credit for being a brave criminal justice reformer when he walks into the epicenter of a huge national discussion about race and criminal justice reform and he has absolutely nothing to say about it," she added.
Watch Maddow tear into Paul, via MSNBC, below:
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