Beto O'Rourke, the heiress husband and failed Senate candidate who briefly launched a career as a pensive travel blogger before deciding to run for president, is struggling to stay relevant in the Democratic primary. In a recent poll of primary voters in New Hampshire, O'Rourke is approaching "statistically insignificant" territory. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is surging, while THE POLITICO is running feature stories on "Beto's Long History of Failing Upward."
Given the circumstances, O'Rourke was asked a rather ridiculous question during a recent campaign stop in Bedford, N.H. Would he, if nominated, select "one of the amazing woman candidates" as a running mate? As Beto rightly pointed out, the very notion of him discussing possible running mates at this point was "a little bit presumptuous." He went on to suggest that, in the unlikely event that he does win the nomination, he probably would select a female rival as a running mate, or perhaps "some other extraordinary woman who's not running right now," such as Stacey Abrams.
Abrams, the failed George gubernatorial candidate who continues to threaten the fabric of our democracy by refusing to concede defeat in that race, is unlikely to be flattered by O'Rourke's hypothetical offer. She has already refused, according to reports, an actual offer from former Vice President Joe Biden to join his ticket as the VP nominee, a proposal that one of Abrams' own aides denounced as "exploitative." The self-declared governor of Georgia has even left open the possibility of entering the Democratic primary as a presidential candidate, telling the ladies of The View, "I think you don't run for second place."
JUST IN: Asked about rumors Joe Biden might consider selecting her as his 2020 running mate, Stacey Abrams tells @TheView, "I think you don't run for second place."
"If I'm going to enter a primary, then I'm going to enter a primary." https://t.co/dMeVjlPoyT pic.twitter.com/avqwLUco01
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) March 27, 2019
Floating Abrams as a potential VP pick did not win Beto any fans among the crew at Morning Joe. Co-host Mika Brzezinski, for example, told O'Rourke to take a seat. "You know, I don't think [Abrams] appreciates that," said Mika. "That was already talked about, and she was like, I'm not running for second place, if I'm gonna run, I'm gonna run for first place."
The pile-on continued later in the show, when Mika asked Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty, "What do you think is going on with Beto?" How could a candidate heralded as "the second coming" be polling so poorly in the race? They both agreed that Beto didn't exactly have a compelling rationale for running, with Tumulty adding that she also agreed with Mika's assessment of the Abrams situation, saying it was "insulting to Stacey Abrams for, you know, white guys, essentially to get up there and say they want to make her their human shield against, you know, a party that is looking for some kind of diversity."
More MSNBC trashing of O'Rourke for floating Abrams as possible running mate pic.twitter.com/vkDsW0rgk3
— David Rutz (@DavidRutz) May 13, 2019