Given the circumstances, O’Rourke was asked a rather ridiculous question during a recent campaign stop in Bedford, N.H. Would he, if nominated, select “one of the amazing woman candidates” as a running mate? As Beto rightly pointed out, the very notion of him discussing possible running mates at this point was “a little bit presumptuous.” He went on to suggest that, in the unlikely event that he does win the nomination, he probably would select a female rival as a running mate, or perhaps “some other extraordinary woman who’s not running right now,” such as Stacey Abrams.
Floating Abrams as a potential VP pick did not win Beto any fans among the crew at Morning Joe. Co-host Mika Brzezinski, for example, told O’Rourke to take a seat. “You know, I don’t think [Abrams] appreciates that,” said Mika. “That was already talked about, and she was like, I’m not running for second place, if I’m gonna run, I’m gonna run for first place.”
The pile-on continued later in the show, when Mika asked Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty, “What do you think is going on with Beto?” How could a candidate heralded as “the second coming” be polling so poorly in the race? They both agreed that Beto didn’t exactly have a compelling rationale for running, with Tumulty adding that she also agreed with Mika’s assessment of the Abrams situation, saying it was “insulting to Stacey Abrams for, you know, white guys, essentially to get up there and say they want to make her their human shield against, you know, a party that is looking for some kind of diversity.” – READ MORE