Overview
- At the Tune Inn on Tuesday, William Paul confronted Rep. Mike Lawler with antisemitic insults in front of a NOTUS reporter during a discussion about a Kentucky House primary.
- Lawler said the exchange became a roughly 10‑minute diatribe in which Paul used slurs about Jews and gays, flipped him off, then stumbled out after admitting he was drunk.
- William Paul posted an apology on X on Wednesday, saying he had too much to drink and is seeking help for a drinking problem, while Sen. Rand Paul’s office offered no substantive comment.
- The rant centered on Rep. Thomas Massie’s May 19 primary, with Paul blaming “your people” if Massie loses and invoking GOP donor Paul Singer as serving Israeli interests, a claim echoed in pro‑Massie messaging that featured Singer beside a rainbow Star of David.
- Jewish organizations condemned the episode as antisemitic, coverage cited NOTUS’s eyewitness account and Lawler’s remarks, and reports noted William Paul’s prior alcohol‑related cases as the incident looms over intra‑GOP tensions ahead of the vote.