Beto O'Rourke Rebukes Trump on Immigration at Mexican Border
O’Rourke is polling in the top tier of a diverse set of nearly 20 Democrats hoping to challenge Trump.
(Bloomberg) -- Texan Beto O’Rourke officially launched his 2020 presidential campaign on Saturday in El Paso, using his home town on the Rio Grande River as a backdrop to declare he’s the best candidate to take on President Donald Trump at a “moment of truth” for U.S. democracy.
The former three-term Democratic congressman and a darling of left-leaning voters ticked off his campaign priorities -- a package of ideas his campaign called a “unifying vision for bridging divides.”
“This is our moment of truth. And we cannot be found wanting,” O’Rourke said in an unscripted speech heavy on immigration that also touched on universal health care, criminal justice reform, veterans affairs, climate change, teacher pay, voting rights, and economic inequality.
“Let us be clear: we will not be defined by our fears or the smallness of our differences,” the Texan said. “We will instead be known by our ambitions, our aspirations and the resolve, the creativity, the service and sacrifice by which we will have achieved them.”
Joined by wife Amy and their three young children, O’Rourke next travels to events at Texas Southern University in Houston and at the state capitol in Austin.
Echoes of JFK?
O’Rourke’s charisma and relative youth grabbed national attention when he nearly defeated incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz in the 2018 midterms. His bid generated campaign contributions from around the country and established a national profile.
Maria Casillos, 74, who lives in Los Angeles but has a home in El Paso and attended Saturday’s rally, admires O’Rourke’s “genuine and uplifting” personality. Casillos said she once attended a John F. Kennedy event in El Paso, and that “Beto reminds me of him.”
The O’Rourke-Cruz contest was the most expensive Senate race ever, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The Democrat pulled to within 2.6 percentage points of Cruz after outspending his Republican opponent by $79 million to $46 million. Cruz won his first Senate race, in 2012, by 16 points over a former state lawmaker.
El Paso, separated by the Rio Grande from the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, has taken on a symbolic role in Trump’s quest to extend a wall along the entire southern U.S. border.
Immigration Fight
“Today we started building the big beautiful wall right on the Rio Grande,” Trump said at a rally in El Paso in February, his first after a bruising government shutdown over border funding. On Friday, Trump threatened to close the southern border next week unless Mexico “immediately” stops illegal immigration.
On Saturday O’Rourke said El Paso is safe because being a city of “immigrants and asylum seekers,” not in spite of it. “If we’re serious about security, let this country of immigrants -- Republicans, independents and Democrats -- rewrite our immigration laws in our own image, from our own experiences, and in the best traditions of this great country,” he said.
After the close race against Cruz and months of anticipation about his next steps, the challenge for O’Rourke, 46, will be to maintain his popularity as other declared candidates gain national name recognition. He’ll also face pressure to develop a more detailed policy platform to prove that he can do more than rally crowds with inspirational but vague speeches.
‘He Is Relatable’
One voter already on board was Salena Cobos, who wore a bright pink “Beto” T-shirt to the rally. “I just feel he is relatable,” said Cobos, 40, of El Paso. “I am a lesbian, a Latina, and a woman with a special need child, with Down Syndrome. I just feel he speaks more directly to the things that touch on the person I am.”
But Andrea Chacon, also known as “Miss Border Cities,” said she also wants to hear from other candidates before making a choice. She sang the National Anthem before Saturday’s rally as she does at other local events.
The Texas Democrat announced his candidacy in a March 14 video, nearly synchronized with the publication of a Vanity Fair cover story that detailed his own agonizing over whether he should enter the race, and a much-mocked assertion that “Man, I’m just born to be in it.”
“Our ability to campaign this way as a campaign run for and by people -- no PACs, no corporations, people from every state & territory -- can bring us together not just in defeating Trump, but in ensuring that we have the full power of people to accomplish this country’s priorities,” O’Rourke said on Saturday.
Robert Francis O’Rourke
As he officially ramps up his campaign, O’Rourke is polling in the top tier of a diverse set of nearly 20 Democrats hoping to challenge Trump.
Typically known by his nickname, Robert Francis O’Rourke has already sprinted through early primary and caucus states. He’s held town hall meetings in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
The candidate has drawn media attention for attracting large crowds and for the record-breaking $6.1 million he raised in the 24 hours after his announcement video. His campaign has shunned money from political action committees, and emphasized strong support from small online contributions.
Tapping into O’Rourke’s grassroots appeal, volunteers were expected to host more than 1,000 parties in every U.S. state and territory to watch a live-stream of Saturday’s rally.
But as the early buzz over his candidacy recedes, O’Rourke is finding that, unlike his 2018 Senate bid, his Texas brand of progressive politics may not be far-left enough for a nationwide contest.
This time, he’s facing Democratic competitors angling to be seen as more progressive on health care, energy and the economy. For instance, O’Rourke says he supports universal health care coverage, but stops short of endorsing so-called Medicare for All, a proposal that may wipe out the private health insurance system in the U.S.
O’Rourke’s free-wheeling speaking style, viewed as part of his appeal, has also caused some early problems. He’s apologized for joking at several events that his wife has been raising their kids “sometimes with my help.”
Some Democrats have also questioned why they should support someone who could be considered an example of white male privilege. Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who narrowly lost the Georgia gubernatorial race in 2018, told MSNBC she believes race may be playing a role O’Rourke’s rising popularity after his failed Senate run.
Top Tier
Abrams questioned why she and former Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum haven’t received the same attention, though they also narrowly lost statewide races. Both are black, while O’Rourke is white.
The two other likely Democratic candidates polling higher than O’Rourke are also white men, according to a Quinnipiac University survey released Thursday, at a time when Democrats’ electoral success depends heavily on turnout from women and minority voters.
The poll showed O’Rourke at 12 percent among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, behind former Vice President Joe Biden at 29 percent and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at 19 percent. California Senator Kamala Harris, a black woman, was the preferred candidate of 8 percent or respondents.
“Hungry for a candidate to take on President Donald Trump, Democrats and Democratic leaners put the three Bs -- Biden, Bernie and Beto -- at the top in a race where age, race and gender take a back seat to electability and shared views,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the poll, in releasing the survey.
After O’Rourke’s event, Erin Perrine, deputy communications director for Trump’s re-election campaign, said in an emailed statement that Democrats are “sprinting to left to see who can come up with the most liberal, big government fantasy.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Tony Czuczka
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