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Rand Paul on 2016: Why the GOP candidate says he's not going anywhere

Despite scrutiny of his weakening poll numbers and disappointing fundraising, the Kentucky senator says he's here to stay.

It鈥檚 been a tough week for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

The Republican presidential candidate has spent the week explaining why his campaign still even exists, appearing on outlet after outlet to defend himself from speculation that weakening poll numbers and a cash-strapped campaign would 鈥� or should 鈥� lead him to drop out.

This week, fellow GOP candidate Donald Trump on Twitter, writing, 鈥淩and Paul聽has been driven out of the race by my statements about him 鈥� he will announce soon.鈥�

Asked to respond during an , Paul shrugged off Mr. Trump鈥檚 comments.

鈥淚 guess it鈥檚 part of his bravado, his shtick,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檒l tell you this: I think we鈥檒l be around just as long as Trump, or longer.鈥�

But Trump isn鈥檛 the only one broadcasting these predictions. The senator raised just $2.5 million this quarter, a disappointing showing that adds insult to injury as polls peg his support at a national , according to Real Clear Politics.

CNBC, which will host the next Republican debate on Oct. 28, has said that candidates polling at an in the five-week period beforehand will secure a spot onstage.

And one of the three super PACs behind Paul鈥檚 presidential run has lost confidence in the candidate, saying publicly it has聽, reports Politico.

Ed Crane, who cofounded libertarian think tank the Cato Institute and heads up a group named PurplePAC, said he believed the senator had abandoned his libertarian views.

鈥淚 have stopped raising money for him until I see the campaign correct its problems,鈥� said Mr. Crane to Politico. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 going to raise money to spend on a futile crusade.鈥�

Before that, PurplePAC had helped raise around $1.2 million, nearly half of Paul鈥檚 total haul this quarter.

Paul鈥檚 greatest strength in appealing to voters across the board 鈥� a distinctive world view and message 鈥� can also be his greatest weakness, 海角大神's Francine Kiefer reported earlier this year, as Paul's ideological standpoints can also be alienating to some voters.

For now, however, 鈥渢he message from Paulworld is that ,鈥� The Washington Post wrote this week.

Based on interviews with the senator鈥檚 campaign team, the Post :

As of this week, the campaign has at least one county chair in all 99 Iowa counties, winning them over聽even as Paul's support聽was mired in the single digits. It has added new staff in the caucus state of Nevada, where it is currently holding onto an endorsement from a Republican state legislator who was聽reportedly switching to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.).

There are no layoffs, no triage plans, for a staff of more than 40 people, which was always designed to be lean.听No one, according to the campaign, has been asked to take a pay cut or an IOU.

鈥淚 think the rumors of my demise are somewhat exaggerated, to say the least,鈥� Paul said Sunday in an .听