Rand Paul said Friday that while he's "not into defending Donald Trump," he does believe conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt pulled a "little bit of a game of gotcha" with his questions about various terrorist leaders.
"I do think that running through a list of every different Arabic name and asking somebody to respond to them is maybe a little bit of a game of 'gotcha,' the Kentucky Republican senator and GOP presidential candidate told
"The Michael Smerconish Program" broadcast on SiriusXM satellite radio Friday morning.
Story continues below audio.
Friday morning, Trump called Hewitt, who will be one of the moderators at the Sept. 16 GOP debates, a "third-rate radio announcer," during
MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program, a day after Hewitt asked him questions on his radio show about Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the Quds Force in Iran, and other top figures from the Middle East.
And while Paul sympathized, he does think that a presidential candidate does need to know who the players are overseas.
"I do think knowing the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah, knowing the difference between Shiites and Sunnis, and knowing a little bit of the history, or a significant amount, of the history of what's been going on in the Middle East is important for our next leader," Paul said. "I''m not into defending Donald Trump, and you won't find it very often, but I think some interviewers do like to play this game."