Washington ( CNN ) -- Trying to strike a balance between shedding his isolationist label and defending his nontraditional GOP views on foreign policy , Sen. Rand Paul took another jab Tuesday at his more hawkish colleague , Sen. John McCain . In a discussion hosted by Paul Gigot , editorial page editor at The Wall Street Journal , Paul argued he 's not in favor of a total abandonment of U.S. intervention overseas but was unapologetic in saying he 's `` one of the least reluctant to go to war . '' `` If I 'm ever commander-in-chief , I will not want to take the country to war , '' the Kentucky Republican said . `` It will be the last resort and only when the country is united . '' Paul said he 's not staking out an `` all or none '' approach on U.S. intervention . `` But I do believe less . I believe we 've been everywhere all the time . We 're about to bankrupt our country and there is great danger to what we 've been doing , '' he said . `` I want less . McCain wants more . He wants 15 countries more or 15 wars more . '' His comments came at The Wall Street Journal 's annual meeting of the CEO Council , an audience that overwhelmingly favors former Florida Gov . Jeb Bush as the 2016 Republican presidential nominee . The jab against McCain marks the latest hit in an ongoing back-and-forth between the two senators over foreign policy . This summer they sparred publicly after Paul repeatedly pushed a widely-debunked claim that the Arizona senator took a photo with ISIS leaders when he went to Syria last year . In turn , McCain blasted Paul for appearing to waver on his views about the fight against ISIS , saying Paul 's change in tune weakened his `` credibility '' and argued he would n't be a good commander-in-chief on national security issues . Brian Rogers , a spokesman for McCain , responded to Paul 's latest comment on Tuesday . `` It 's hard to take seriously the claims of someone who repeats debunked conspiracy theories spread by America 's adversaries that Sen. McCain met with ISIS , '' Rogers said . In Paul 's remarks at the event , he brought up a Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll from Iowa , saying that he liked how they framed a question on foreign policy asking whether the U.S. should be quicker to intervene in foreign conflicts `` as John McCain suggests '' or less interventionist , `` as Rand Paul suggests . '' With 41 percent agreeing with Paul 's position -- slightly fewer than the 45 percent who sided with McCain -- Paul argued that a significant bulk of the electorate is on his side and pushed back against criticism that he maintains fringe views on national defense . `` That 's a caricature and I 'll have to fight that , but we 'll see what happens , '' he said .
Sen. Rand Paul advocated for `` less war '' at a conference in Washington on Tuesday . Paul claimed Sen. John McCain hoped to start `` 15 wars more '' Paul continues to shape his foreign policy doctrine ahead of a potential 2016 presidential run .