Beto O'Rourke, the former congressman who married a real-estate heiress and lost a Senate race to Ted Cruz, among other things, is trying to run for president. It's not going very well.
O'Rourke has tumbled in the polls since launching his campaign in March, and his recent press coverage has been brutal.
Politico Magazine published an article entitled "Beto's Long History of Failing Upward," and various other outlets have focused on his campaign's shortcomings and his own status as a privileged white male.
His band didn’t catch on, his alt-weekly flopped and he lost his highest-profile race. Now, he's running for president. https://t.co/Upd2jGTAVp
— POLITICO Magazine (@POLITICOMag) May 10, 2019
Almost two months in, Beto O'Rourke's campaign is still in flux: campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon has yet to start full time, and the campaign hasn't yet hired a comms director publicly. Some staffers say it feels like they're in a holding pattern: https://t.co/yTerFtRTO5
— Molly Hensley-Clancy (@mollyhc) April 30, 2019
Unfazed by sinking poll numbers, @BetoORourke keeps plugging away on presidential bid https://t.co/4PTxnzhYPi
— Todd J. Gillman (@toddgillman) May 10, 2019
Failing ‘White Privilege’ Candidate Beto O’Rourke Slammed for Suggesting Stacey Abrams as Running Mate https://t.co/zLC53qkDAu
— Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) May 13, 2019
These headlines are a far cry from the Vanity Fair cover story (and Annie Leibovitz photo shoot) that accompanied his campaign announcement.
'Man, I’m just born to be in it." Beto O’Rourke seemed to come from nowhere to the brink of a presidential candidacy—but he’s been on this journey for his whole life. O’Rourke spoke with Joe Hagan. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz. https://t.co/WhmQGZnbUg pic.twitter.com/a7DCoaZdtd
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) March 13, 2019
During an appearance on The View on Tuesday, the candidate said he regretted the Vanity Fair cover, in particular his comments about being "born to be in it," and acknowledged that he has a long way to go when it comes to reckoning with his while male privilege. "No one is born to be president of the United States of America, least of all me," O'Rourke said.
The Vanity Fair cover "reinforce[d] that perception of privilege," the candidate said when asked by co-host Joy Behar whether he considered it a "mistake" that came across as "elitist." O'Rourke said that acknowledging his own privilege was key to addressing the ""systematic foundational discrimination" in this country.
"There are things that I have been privileged to do in my life that others cannot," he said. "And I think the more that I travel and listen to people and learn from them, the clearer that becomes to me."
The View hosts also pressed O'Rourke to once again apologize for his flippant jokes about being a "part-time dad" on the campaign trail, while his wife, Amy, takes care of their three children.