Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky cast President Donald Trump as an anti-war leader Tuesday during his speech at the Republican National Convention, saying he supported the president "because he believes as I do that a strong America cannot fight endless wars."
"We must not continue to leave our blood and treasure in Middle East quagmires," Paul said.
Paul described Trump as the first president in a generation "to seek to end war rather than start one." He said the president is seeking to end the war in Afghanistan, which the United States invaded in 2001.
Over 2,000 U.S. service members have been killed in the mission, known as Operation Enduring Freedom.
Trump said last year that he wanted all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by the Nov. 3 election. In an interview with Axios this month, the president said the number of U.S. personnel in the country will "be down in a very short period of time to 8,000, then we're going to be down to 4,000. We're negotiating right now."
Trump has used his anti-war positions to attack members of his own party, including the third-ranking Republican in the House, Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
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Last month, after she defended a frequent target of Trump — Dr. Anthony Fauci — the president railed against her on Twitter, saying she was "only upset because I have been actively getting our great and beautiful Country out of the ridiculous and costly Endless Wars."
Cheney, a daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, responded that it was "no secret the president and I disagree on some foreign policy issues."
