Politics

Hosts Of ‘The View’ Force Beto To Say He Wasn’t ‘Born To’ Run For President

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Phillip Stucky Contributor
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Former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke walked back his comments that he was “born to be president” made in a March Vanity Fair article Tuesday on “The View.”

The statement came after co-host Joy Behar asked if he thought an article that appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair was a mistake. The title of the article was “Beto O’Rourke: ‘I’m Just Born To Be In It.'”(RELATED: Responding Officers To Beto’s DWI Stand By Claim He Tried To Flee The Scene)

“Yeah, I think it reinforces that perception of privilege and that headline that said I was born to be in this — in the article, I was attempting to say that I felt that my calling was in public service. No one is born to be President of the United States of America, least of all me,” he responded.

Vanity Fair published a profile on the Democratic candidate for president in March, and he told the fashion magazine that he was “born” to run for president.

“I want to be in it,” he said. “Man, I’m just born to be in it, and want to do everything I humanly can for this country at this moment. You can probably tell that I want to run, I do. I think I’d be good at it.”

He also apologized for saying that his wife raised their kids together sometimes with his help, a statement that was widely condemned at the time for his insensitivity toward women.

“So listen, in — in a real ham-handed way I was trying to acknowledge that she has the lion’s share of the responsibility during this campaign,” he said of the comments.

The former Texas rep. concluded:

Not only does she work, she is the principal caregiver to our kids, she is supporting me, she campaigns with me as she just did in New Hampshire this past weekend, and I’m trying to acknowledge that by saying she’s raising our kids, sometimes with my help, I called Amy after I got that criticism and I said, ‘tell me, am I saying this wrong?’ She said, ‘I know what you’re trying to say and I really appreciate where you’re coming from, but the way in which you said it sounds flippant. It minimizes what I’m doing and frankly what a lot of other women in this country are doing so you need to rethink this and say this differently.’ So listen, I have a lot to learn and still am.

The candidate has a penchant for eating his words. A student recently asked O’Rourke why he paid less in taxes than someone straight out of college.

“I’ve served in public office since 2005. I do my best to contribute to the success of my community, my state, and now, my country,” he replied. “There are ways that I do this that are measurable and there are ways that I do this that are immeasurable. There are charities that we donate to that are recorded and itemized, and others that we donate to that we have not.”