Sen. Rand Paul's trip to Moscow this week amid heightened concerns about Russian interference in U.S. elections was one of the most audacious gambits of his political career. The Kentucky Republican's rivals in his own party are certain to accuse him of cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but the real objective of the trip was to get closer to President Trump. Paul was practically the only major figure in Washington to defend Trump in the aftermath of his disastrous joint press conference with Putin, praising the president as a man of peace.