Editor’s note: This story contains strong language that some people may find offensive.
Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke swore at a heckler and got cheers from the crowd Wednesday during a campaign rally in the North Texas town of Mineral Wells.
While O’Rourke discussed the circumstances of the May 24 mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, where 19 children and two teachers were massacred by an 18-year-old who used a legally purchased assault rifle, someone in attendance began laughing. O’Rourke quickly turned around, pointed at the heckler and said, “It may be funny to you, motherf—, but it’s not funny to me, OK.”
“It may be funny to you mother f*cker, but it’s not funny to me.”@BetoORourke did not hold back when a supporter of Greg Abbott laughed loudly as Beto discussed the mass shooting in Uvalde. pic.twitter.com/ETJssUFZxS
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) August 11, 2022
O’Rourke, a Democrat and former Congressman from El Paso, is challenging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, in November’s election. He is seeking to become the state’s first Democratic governor since Ann Richards was elected in 1990.
O’Rourke confronted Abbott during a news conference in Uvalde the day after the deadly school shooting, saying, “This is on you,” and, “Somebody needs to stand up for the children of this state or they will continue to be killed just like they were killed in Uvalde yesterday,” according to the Texas Tribune.
Abbott has criticized O’Rourke for comments he made in 2019, while running for president, when he suggested a mandatory buyback of assault weapons.
O’Rourke’s remarks Wednesday, a video of which was posted on Twitter, drew immediate applause from many of his supporters in attendance.
This story has been updated to add an editor’s note.
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