Trump Says He ‘Wouldn’t Mind’ Running Against Beto O’Rourke

In a Fox Business Network interview on “Morning’s with Maria,” President Donald Trump told host Maria Bartiromo that he “wouldn’t mind” running against former Texas Republican Beto O’Rourke, who recently announced his entry into the presidential race. The comment comes a week after Trump criticized O’Rourke for his “crazy” hand movements.

“My attitude is, I wouldn’t mind,” he said when asked if he wanted to run against O’Rourke.

“I mean, I’d love to have Biden. I’d love to have Bernie, I’d love to have Beto. I mean, Beto seems to be the one the press has chosen. The press seems to have chosen Beto.”

As Politico reports, Trump criticized O’Rourke for his opposition to his proposed border wall earlier this year, which O’Rourke said he would “absolutely” tear down.

“You have Beto, so you have Beto. And Beto comes out and he says, ‘Let’s take down the wall.’ If you ever took down the wall, this country would be overrun.”

Trump added that opposition to his wall from border state Democrats like O’Rourke was nothing but a political move. He also said that he’d also “love” to run against Senator Bernie Sanders or former Vice President Joe Biden.

In his first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, O’Rourke raised $6.1 million, topping his 2020 Democratic rivals’ totals over the same time. O’Rourke’s fundraising success is not a big surprise after his highly successful U.S. Senate campaign last year. However, Sanders has also shown himself to be a proven fundraiser and has a bigger base of small-dollar donors during his 2016 presidential campaign. During his first day on the presidential trail, he raised $5.9 million, as per The Texas Tribune.

Raleigh News Running against Beto? Trump says he 'wouldn't mind' – POLITICO https://t.co/kPFQq6jxKf pic.twitter.com/GcqsRGZymA

— Raleigh NewsChannel (@_Raleigh_NC) March 22, 2019

As CNN reports, O’Rourke has offered a call to action on climate change, a lack of affordable healthcare, and income inequality, among other things. In regards to climate change, he offered support for the Green New Deal that most progressive Democrats embrace, and for healthcare, he supports the expansion of Medicare. However, O’Rourke also believes in the importance of the private insurance market, which puts him to the right of Sanders and others who support single-payer “Medicare-for-all.” He is also pushing for a $15-an-hour minimum wage and increases to federal funding for public education.

O’Rourke has already hit some snags on the presidential trail, as reported by FOX News. He was forced to deny ever taking the drug LSD in Wisconsin on Sunday and also had to vow to stop swearing in front of kids after using the “F-word” frequently during his Senate bid and recent presidential campaign.