O’Rourke says he’ll be ‘more thoughtful’ in talking about his family

Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke said Friday he’ll be “more thoughtful” when talking about his family after joking on the campaign trail this week that his wife has been raising their children “sometimes with my help.”

“Not only will I not say that again, but I’ll be more thoughtful going forward in the way that I talk about our marriage,” O’Rourke said during a recording of the podcast “Political Party LIVE!” in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, according to CNN.

The former Texas congressman, fresh off launching his White House bid this week, said he would also be more thoughtful in “the way in which I acknowledge the truth of the criticism that I have enjoyed white privilege.”

{mosads}”My ham-handed attempt to try to highlight the fact that Amy has the lion’s share of the burden in our family — that she actually works but is the primary parent in our family, especially when I served in Congress, especially when I was on the campaign trail — should have also been a moment for me to acknowledge that that is far too often the case, not just in politics, but just in life in general. I hope as I have been in some instances part of the problem, I can also be part of the solution,” he added regarding criticism that female candidates could not make similar jokes about their families.

O’Rourke entered the Democratic primary race Thursday, following months of mulling a White House bid. He formally announced his campaign a day after being featured in a Vanity Fair cover story in which he remarked, “Man, I’m just born to be in it.”

The former congressman has sought to capitalize on the momentum from his 2018 Senate campaign, which shattered small-dollar donation records and electrified the Democratic base, despite losing by under 3 points.

However, the Texas Democrat was forced to issue two mea culpas within the first 48 hours of his campaign: one over his previous remarks about his family, and another about his time being in a hacking group while a teenager.

O’Rourke acknowledged on Friday that he was a member of a group of activist hackers while in high school in the 1980s after his involvement in the group was reported by Reuters.

He apologized on Friday for his writings during his time as a member of the group, called the Cult of the Dead Cow, including one fictional piece from a killer’s point of view.

O’Rourke said he was “mortified to read it now, incredibly embarrassed … whatever my intention was as a teenager doesn’t matter.” 

“I have to look long and hard at my actions, at the language I have used, and I have to constantly try to do better.”

O’Rourke is facing more than a dozen other candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in 2020, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).