Paul: Rising poll numbers causing scrutiny of my foreign policy views
Updated 8:45 p.m. ET
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa - Rep. Ron Paul said Friday he blames his own rising poll numbers for the heightened scrutiny that his hands-off foreign policy views have recently received.
Asked during a town hall in La Mars, Iowa on Friday why his opponents have begun to hit him on what they call his "dangerous" positions on U.S. international relations, Paul chuckled.
"I think going up in the polls, all of a sudden they came and felt the necessity to find something," he said. "They couldn't find any flip-flops, so they had to work on something else.
"But on the foreign policy, they like to of course use words that, you know, tries to destroy the whole philosophy," Paul continued. "So they say, 'Oh, he's nothing but an isolationist, he's weak on foreign policy.' Of course, it's exactly the opposite."
Texas Gov. Rick Perry was the latest rival of Paul's to blast the Texas congressman on foreign policy. On Friday in Waverly, Iowa, he cited Iran as one of the areas in which he and Paul are on a "180-degree course."
"His remarks about it's fine for him if the Iranians get a nuclear weapon, I happen to think that that is either the most naive thing that I've ever heard out of somebody that's been supposedly in the United States congress and paying attention, or someone that's so out of sync with the American people that they don't need to be the president of the United States."
What happens if Ron Paul wins Iowa?
Prior to the question in La Mars, Paul had already touched on the criticism, saying it "baffles me a whole lot" how anyone could consider his policies "dangerous." He said earlier this week that economic sanctions by the United States and other countries against Iran amount to "acts of war" that risk touching off another conflict. The proper U.S. policy, he added, "is to do a lot less a lot sooner and mind our own business, and then we would not have this threat of another war."
Earlier this week in an interview with National Journal/CBS News, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., reiterated her sentiment that Paul "would be dangerous for the United States on foreign policy," citing his hands-off stance on Iran.
It's not the only thing over which Paul and Bachmann have clashed lately. On Wednesday night, Iowa Sen. Kent Sorenson, up until then Bachmann's state chair, announced his support for Paul. In response, Bachmann has claimed Paul bought off Sorenson - something the campaign and Sorenson deny.
Introducing Paul in a later event Friday, Sorenson attributed his switch to a "change of events."
"I believe we have a top-tier race and a bottom-tier race. I believe the top-tier race is including Congressman Paul and Mitt Romney," Sorenson told an overflow crowd in Sioux Center.
Rebecca Kaplan contributed
Full CBS News coverage: Ron Paul
