© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Beto O'Rourke Stops By 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show'

The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Beto O'Rourke appearing on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

Beto O’Rourke's campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has landed him before a national television audience. On Thursday, the Democrat was a guest on ABC's "https://youtu.be/tjCWJXOaMtc">Ellen DeGeneres Show."

O’Rourke's campaign has used a number of online postings, streaming videos of his town hall events and viral pop culture moments to attract national attention.

Daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres said that last month she saw a video of O’Rourke explaining to a voter why he supports athletes kneeling during the national anthem, and she decided to invite him onto her stage.

WATCH | O'Rourke Addresses President Trump's Tweets

“It was amazing because it almost seemed like you set that up — like that guy was a plant — because your answer was so eloquent,” DeGeneres said.

Beto replied: “We visited every single of the 254 counties in Texas and then this question comes up and I just gave the answer that’s on my mind.”

On the show, O’Rourke recalled criticism claiming that he is more in touch with Hollywood than he is with everyday Texans. To that, O’Rourke replied: “Try to make everyone happy as you run for public office, you just can’t do it.”

DeGeneres asked O’Rourke about a 1998 DUI arrest and mugshot the Cruz campaign uses in its campaign ads. O’Rourke called the arrest a mistake on his part. He then pivoted to his outlook on crime and race.

WATCH | O'Rourke Gets Candid About His DUI

“In many ways, that mistake did not define me, but I know to some degree that is a function that I am a white man in this country. I know that if I had been an African-American if I had been arrested with marijuana, it might be very hard for me to get a job, I would have to check a box on an application form,” O’Rourke said.

Ryan Poppe can be reached at rpoppe@tpr.org or on Twitter @RyanPoppe1

Ryan started his radio career in 2002 working for Austin’s News Radio KLBJ-AM as a show producer for the station's organic gardening shows. This slowly evolved into a role as the morning show producer and later as the group’s executive producer.