MARKWAYNE MULLIN: Dueling with two consenting adults is still there
RAND PAUL: It’s been illegal for 170 years! There’s no precedent for legal dueling pic.twitter.com/eqFp5zPdOX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 18, 2026
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) once challenged journalists to a “duel” amid reports that he had plagiarized speeches from Wikipedia and portions of his book “Government Bullies” from a conservative publication.
“I take it as an insult, and I will not lie down and say people can call me dishonest, misleading or misrepresenting. I have never intentionally done so,” Paul said on ABC News’ “This Week” in a 2013 interview.
“Like I say, if dueling were legal in Kentucky — if they keep it up — it’ll be a duel challenge,” he added.
Paul mocked Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) during a Wednesday hearing on Capitol Hill for wanting to return to the norm of “two consenting adults” being able to resolve their difference by “dueling.”
“It’s been illegal for 170 years. There’s no precedent for legal dueling,” the Kentucky Republican responded.
One of the reporters who published Paul’s potential plagiarism in a November 2013 article quipped Wednesday, “I was once challenged by Sen. Paul 13 years ago to a duel.”
