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WASHINGTON Hundreds of demonstrators gathered around the White House for a noise demonstration and dance party to try to drown out President Donald Trumps speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination.

Later, a crowd enveloped U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky as he left the convention and demanded that he acknowledge police shooting victim Breonna Taylor.

The crowd surrounded Paul as he returned to his hotel in Washington after attending Trump's address at the White House. Video shared on social media shows some protesters shoving police officers escorting Paul as others yell at him to "say her name."

Warning: The video below contains explicit language.

In a Fox News interview Friday morning, Paul called the incident "horrific," and said that he believed he would have been maimed or killed had it not been for the police.

During the interview, Paul also floated a conspiracy that the protesters had been "paid" to be there, claiming without evidence that their presence in D.C. was the result of "intestate criminal traffic across state lines."

"We're going to find out that these people are hired to be here and are from out of town," Paul said.

In terms of calling for justice for Taylor, Paul pointed to his record of criminal justice reform including a bill he introduced in June that would stop the use of no-knock warrants like the one that resulted in Taylor's death.

"The irony is lost on these idiots," Paul said. "...these people were unhinged."

There was no indication Trump heard the protesters as he delivered his speech from the White House's South Lawn on Thursday night.

But there were a few points when a mix of sirens, music and blowhorns could be heard in the background and spectators in the back turned to see where the sounds were coming from.

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Sen. Rand Paul claims protesters who confronted him were 'paid' to be there, offers no evidence - The Denver Channel

Tonight Sen. Rand Paul (RKy.) spoke on behalf of President Donald Trump's reelection. His remarks were heavily influenced by Paul's own longstanding positions against excessive foreign military interventions, but only loosely tied to Trump's actual record.

"I flew with him to Dover Air Force Base to honor two soldiers whose remains were coming home from Afghanistan," Paul said. "I will never forget that evening. I can tell you the president not only felt the pain of these families but the president is committed to ending this war.

"President Trump is the first president in a generation to seek to end war rather than start one. He intends to end the war in Afghanistan. He is bringing our men and women home."

You all may remember that Barack Obama ran for president also promising to end our overseas wars, and it did not happen.

As we approach the end of Trump's first term, we cannot help but notice that the president has not, in fact, ended any wars and has in fact risked escalation of military engagement between the United States and Iran when he approved the drone-strike assassination of an Iranian general.

It's true that Trump is promising to bring thousands of troops home from Afghanistan, and that's wonderful, assuming it all happens and he completes the pullout. The Trump administration is, in reality, resisting any and all attempts by Congress to rescind the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) that previously gave President George W. Bush permission to wage war against Al Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In his speech, Paul railed against Biden for supporting this war. But when Congress, in a rare act of bipartisanship, passed a resolution stopping the president in engaging in any further military action against Iran without congressional approval, Trump vetoed it. Paul voted for this resolution and has consistently voted to rescind the AUMF.

And despite Paul's attempts to insist tonight that Biden and the Democrats will continue overseas wars or start new ones, the congressional record shows that in reality, Democrats have been joining with Paul, agreeing with him in votes to bring the troops back home. It's actually the White House and hawks within the Republican Party who have really been standing in the way.

Now both the Democratic Party 2020 platform and Trump's 50-point plan for his second term promise, yet again, to end the wars and bring the troops home. For those who truly oppose foreign military intervention, the appropriate way to look at Trump's first term is not unlike Obama's. This promise has not been kept.

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At the RNC, Rand Paul Is Right About the Need To End Wars, but Trump Hasn't Ended Any - Reason

Lawmakers in New York on Tuesday joined the public outcry calling Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's actions since taking over the helm of the U.S. Postal Service a "purposeful dismantling and delay" that should have all Americans concerned. (Aug. 18) AP Domestic

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is not in favor of providing additional funding to the U.S. Postal Service, saying recently that the agency is not "redeemable."

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is set to vote on legislation that would give $25 billion over to the cash-strapped organization. Kentucky's junior senator told Fox News on Wednesday he is against the legislation.

"Anybody who wants to give money to the post office you might as well just put it into a big pile on your front lawn and burn it," Paul said.

The Kentucky Republican pointed to the Postal Service's labor costsas a reason the agency is struggling. Seventy-six percent of the agency's total costs for fiscal year 2018 came from labor costs, according to a December 2019 report from fromtheOffice of Inspector General.

Mitch McConnell: US House's Postal Service bill may be negotiating opportunity

More: Trump knocks McConnell for Postal Service hearing ahead of Republican National Convention

Many of those labor costsincurred by thePostal Service are linked to the federal Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act passed in 2006, which requires the agency to makepayments toward health benefits for future retireesdecades in advance. The Postal Service is designated to be self-sustaining, meaning it receives notax dollars to cover operations.

But it hasbeen struggling recently.Between 2007 and 2019, it lost roughly $78 billion due to decreased mail volume and increased cost, according to areport released in May by the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan government watchdog agency.

"There's no way to give any money to the post office to make the post office redeemable," Paul said. "You cannot fix the post office unless you fix their labor problem."

Paul said the only way he'd give the post office "any money" is for the agency to have a hiring freeze "and they would gradually have to lower their employment significantly," adding that a decline in mail volumes should decrease the size of the agency.

"It's a real mistake to give the post office money unless they significantly reform their ways," Paul said.

Paul's comments come as the Postal Service has been in the national spotlightin recent weeks as new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Republican megadonor and President Donald Trump supporter, instituted cost-saving measures that haveslowed down mail delivery and raised concernsover mail-in ballots. Trump has claimed many times, without evidence, that mail-in votingwill lead to widespread fraud.

Joe Gerth: Trump wants to destroy the United States Postal Service. McConnell needs to stop him

On Tuesday, DeJoy saidhe wouldpause operational changesfor the Postal Service until after the election. However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she spoke with DeJoy and that he would not be reversing the changes including reinstalling mail sorting machines that were removed.

The Postal Service in Louisville had 24 sorting machines before four were removed, according to Art Campos,the president of American Postal Workers Union Louisville Local #4, which represents roughly 700 Postal Service workers in the area.

Campos said he isn't angry over DeJoy's directives not being reversed, but rather relieved that they're being paused so workers can adjust to them without fear of more changes.

"It's always been our culture to get the mail and these packages out to the customer," Campos told The Courier Journal. "But when these directives came out, it created a hardship because all of the sudden, we weren't getting all the mail out."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, told The Courier Journal earlier this week thatHouse legislation focusing on thePostal Service could be achance to gain some groundin the stalled negotiationsover a coronavirus relief package.

However, he indicated the Senate is unlikely to pass a bill that addresses only the Postal Service.

DeJoy is set to testify in two high-profile congressional hearingsFriday and Monday regarding the Postal Service. Paul is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which will hold Friday's hearing.

Campos, the local APWU president, said the main question he wants to see DeJoy answer is: How does he see the future of the post office?

Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.comand502-377-5675 or follow on Twitter @TobinBen.Support strong local journalism by subscribing today:subscribe.courier-journal.com.

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Rand Paul: It is a mistake to fund the Postal Service 'unless they significantly reform' - Courier Journal

Rand Paul, Opinion contributor Published 9:01 a.m. ET Aug. 20, 2020 | Updated 9:37 a.m. ET Aug. 20, 2020

Those with liberal or libertarian views on war and justice should prefer Trump over this ticket. He signed the First Step Act and hasn't started a war.

As a libertarian Republican, there are often times I agree with those on the other side of the aisle. Among those issues are war and criminal justice reform. Many if not all of my efforts in these areas have been rooted in my commitment to lead as many of my fellow Republicans as possible to what I believe is the position of principle and constitutional government.

Unfortunately, and too often in the past, these are the exact areas where the new Democratic ticket has fallen very short. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, much like Hillary Clinton, have poor records on foreign policy and criminal justice.

In 2002, Joe Biden was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As such, he could and should have been the check and balance against a misguided attempt by the Bush administration to go to war with Iraq.

Instead, as usual, Joe Biden chose the wrong, more hawkish path. Twenty-one of his Democratic colleagues, including my friends Ron Wyden and Pat Leahy, took the principled stand to oppose this war.

Do you know who else opposed this war? Donald Trump.By 2004 he was a full-blown opponent, and he ran for president loudly proclaiming that it was a geopolitical mistake that led to 15 years of increasingly bad policy in the Middle East.

When a candidate for office comes to me to ask for my endorsement in their campaign, this is the first question I ask: Do you believe the Iraq War was a mistake?

Joe Biden, who defended his vote to authorize the war for years, fails that test.

Biden is a reliable interventionist.He supported war in Libya, Syriaand Serbia. He pushed for NATO expansion and for more foreign aid to countries who hate America, like Pakistan.

Donald Trumps policy is to stop the endless wars Joe Biden spent his career starting.

The choice is very stark and very clear.

Joe Biden signs documents for receiving the Democratic presidential nomination in Wilmington, Delaware, on Aug. 14, 2020.(Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP)

On the issue of criminal justice, we have a two-for-one deal. Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have a troubling history of putting minorities in prison for drug crimes.

Of course, once again, Joe Biden tops the list by far.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed into law a bill that brought great harm to a generation of Blackand Hispanic Americans.

Who stoodbehind him, applauding,when he signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act into law?

Joe Biden.

It was part of a long history of Biden playing the law and order card, which meant putting people away for harsh sentences, with clearly racial implications.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds: When Black lives matter to Democrats, and when they don't

Biden said it himself in a Senate floor speech earlier that same year: The truth is, every major crime bill since 1976 thats come out of this Congress, every minor crime bill, has had the name of the Democratic senator from the state of Delaware: Joe Biden.

Or, to put it more colloquially as Biden did: Lock the SOBs up.

Kamala Harris' record as a prosecutor was closely examined in the Democratic primary, and she was famously taken to task on it by my friend Tulsi Gabbard. Harris was on the wrong side of reform, or consciously silent. She refused to fight to overturn wrongful convictions, worked to continue draconian marijuana laws, and aggressively went after parents oftruant school children.

To put it mildly, this is not a ticket that those with liberal or libertarian views on war and justice should embrace.

Donald Trump signed historic, first-in-a-generation criminal justice reform legislation with the First Step Act, the first step to undo the damage of both Biden and Harris.

He has changed our foreign policy away from the hawks of both parties, and he became the first president in memory to not start a war in his term in office and is working to end the ones he inherited.

USPS: Unhinged liberals are trying to scare voters with Postal Service conspiracy theory

As America watches the Democratic ticket this week at their convention, I urge them to look closely. Look at the issues, the recordand the facts, rather than the rhetoric and promises of the speeches.

Perhaps youll find, as I did, that Donald Trump beats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on these issues, and it's not even that close.

Rand Paul is a Republican senator from Kentucky. Follow him on Twitter:@RandPaul

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On war and criminal justice reform, Trump is better than Biden and Harris: Sen. Rand Paul - USA TODAY

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Sen. Rand Paul gets it.

He understands that when it comes to the health, education and welfare of children, few things are more important to a family. He also knows a monopoly when he sees one.

Enter the SCHOOL Act, legislation Mr. Paul introduced in early August that encourages parents to opt their kids out of public schools and hands them the money to pay for tutoring, nonpublic schooling and education items, among other things.

Under the Kentucky Republicans plan, public school monopolies will have to share taxpayer dollars, and funds will have to follow the child, not the dictates of the system.

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year opened the door to more public funding of private schools, and Mr. Paul goes even further with legislation that discards the one-size-fits-all system with its laws, practices and policies largely controlled by unions and educrats.

The federal government used to give families a lot of leeway. The Founding Fathers did, too allowing states to handle education matters. That was before Congress and the White House instituted reforms in 1953 via the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

President Carter flipped the script again in 1979 by taking education out of the bureaucratic HEW equation and establishing the cabinet-level Department of Education.

Oh well. Here we are.

State and local leaders are wearing their health (i.e. COVID-19) crayons into nubs and ignoring their education obligations.

In Maryland, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich tried to shutter private and religious schools during COVID-19. Parents told him to step back and leave our schools alone. Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, had their back.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dont cotton to school choice and parental wherewithal. In left-leaning California, some public schools were pushing virtual learning, with teachers face-timing with students for only 1.5 to 2.5 hours a day.

If kids dont learn, tough.

And in the nations capital, the Bowser administration and the ultra-liberal D.C. Council are trying to juggle so many policies during the coronavirus pandemic, City Hall is on a virtual shutdown as well as the virus-related one. (City Administrator Rashad Young also walked away from the job in recent days.)

Whats especially troubling is that it seems none of the Democratic leaders are listening to parents, who need schools reopened so children can learn and play in familiar structured environments, and so parents can go back to work.

Police officers have children. Firefighters have children. Paramedics have children. Doctors, nurses and orderlies have kids. They cannot effectively and efficiently work virtually, and if public schools and day care centers are closed, they cannot get to their job sites.

The SCHOOL Act wont be voted on before Labor Day for two reasons: Congress is in recess; and the political conventions are on our doorstep. When lawmakers do return, another trillion-dollar stimulus package will perch atop the congressional to-do list.

Wisely, Mr. Paul is prepared to add the SCHOOL Act as an amendment to the next stimulus package and could very well proposal it as a standalone bill.

Of course, the Democrats, who are holding the Democratic National Convention this week, are unlikely to praise Mr. Pauls efforts at their confab because its their show and their show alone. Business as usual. But the Republicans, regardless of their personal thoughts about Mr. Paul. have a gathering coming up too, and the GOP should get behind the SCHOOL Act.

Education should focus on children and families, not the political proclivities of unionized, bureaucratic educrats.

The proposal mandates that money follows the child, not the system, whether learning in person or remotely, to the public school, private school, or home school they attend.

By the way, the bill applies to in-school and virtual learning, and the full title is the Support Children Having Open Opportunities for Learning Act of 2020.

Spot on.

Deborah Simmons can be contacted at [emailprotected]

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Rand Paul's SCHOOL Act is spot on - Washington Times