Former Texas governor Rick Perry has a message for three of the current Republican White House hopefuls: Run for governor before you run for president. Speaking about Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul, all three U.S. senators, Perry said in an interview last week with THE WEEKLY STANDARD that he's hearing from GOP voters that they want executive experience.
"I’ve had more than one individual say, 'You know what, if you want to be the president of the United States, you ought to go back to your home state and be the governor and get that executive experience before you go lead this country,'" said Perry.
The former governor calls the senators "Marco, Ted, and Rand," and made sure to say he has "great respect" for the trio. "They are smart as a tree full of owls," said Perry, "These guys are very, very capable United States senators."
Earlier in the day, Perry had addressed the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City. The Texas Republican seemed to have Paul, who had just completed a filibuster on the Senate floor to block the renewal of the NSA's wiretapping program, on his mind during the speech. "Leadership's not just a speech on the Senate floor, it's a record of action," he told the crowd. Perry later denied in his interview with TWS that the statement was a specific shot at Paul.
Perry, who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for president in 2012, left office in January of this year after more than 14 years as Texas governor. He will likely announce a second presidential bid on June 4 near Dallas.