MSNBC Host Tries to Get Ron Paul to 'Applaud' Obama on Syria (You Can Guess How That Conversation Goes)

Former congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul appeared Thursday on MSNBC’s “Now W/ Alex Wagner” to discuss the possibility of a U.S. military strike on Syria.

Perhaps the most interesting moment from Paul’s appearance occurred when Wagner tried to get him to agree that President Barack Obama acted nobly when he decided over the weekend to “let” Congress decide whether the U.S. should commit military resources to the war-torn region.

“Do you not applaud the president for making that decision?” Wagner asked.

“This is [purely] political. I mean, he still says he doesn’t need the authority. All our presidents say, ‘We don’t need the authority,'" Paul said.

"But if there’s a public pressure to say, 'Oh, let’s give the congress a say' ... like we’re very important, and then they condone everything – we always condone essentially anything the presidents want to do," he added.

In short, Paul explained, the president didn’t hand Syria to Congress because he wanted to adhere to the Constitution. He handed the decision to Congress because his polling numbers have tanked.

You can watch the discussion here:

Now although that portion of the interview ended cordially enough, the entire MSNBC segment did not.

Things turned ugly when Wagner questioned Paul over his decision to speak at an event hosted by the Fatima Center, a group with some reportedly questionable positions regarding Jews (you can read the group's response to this charge here).

Wagner asked Paul if he planned on cancelling his speaking engagement.

Paul replied “no,” adding later:

I’m going to a conservative, Catholic group that is pro-peace and wants to hear my foreign policy and my take on economy. If I go only—I wouldn’t be on this station [MSNBC] if I had a litmus test.

Wagner then quoted some of the more questionable items from the group’s charter.

“I have nothing to do with that,” Paul responded. “Sounds to me like you have me on here to bash Catholics.”

“There have been a lot of folks that have been involved with your campaign, supporters, newsletters that have been accredited to you that have strong anti-Semitic, racist undertones,” she said.

The former congressman was not amused: “When people disagree with your ideas they have to destroy your character.”

The interview ended soon thereafter, the two parting ways on a sour note:

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(H/T: Mediaite). Featured image screen grab.

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