It will not be clear if President Donald Trump decides to run for re-election until the second or third year of his term, Sen. Rand Paul told MSNBC's "Kasie DC" on Sunday.
When host Kasie Hunt asked if the country would benefit from a GOP primary before the next presidential election, the Republican senator from Kentucky replied, "I think no one can stop primaries from happening and there could well be a primary that happens."
Paul stressed that although he does not agree with Trump on every issue, he sees the glass as half full.
"At this point, I can't see myself supporting anyone but President Trump because I think he's given us the most conservative Cabinet we've seen since Reagan," the senator said. "We've repealed regulations for the first time in 20 years. He gave us a great Supreme Court justice and I'm hoping he gives us a couple more if we have retirements."
Paul said that "If we could end the Afghan war, that's [the candidate] who I would support, [but] I don't think that's going to be an alternative to President Trump, so I like to accentuate the positive, and I would support him."
Talking about Republican infighting, Paul said that disagreements are fine and healthy when they center around policy, but that there should be no attacks on character because no one is perfect.
The senator stressed that many make it a "holier than thou" issue, but said that Americans are more concerned about policy.
Paul said that in his relationship with the president, he tries to engage him on policies in which there is common ground, and there is no need to confront him on issues of character.