Beto O'Rourke has been known for his unconventional campaigning style.
From jumping on countertops to skateboarding outside fast food joints to even running 5Ks to raise awareness about his policies, O'Rourke has proven that he is anything but a conventional candidate. He has continued that with his rhetoric, making headlines recently for dropping an f-bomb live on CNN while responding to another incidence of gun violence in Texas.
On CNN's "State of the Union," O'Rourke said, "We're averaging about 300 mass shootings a year, no other country comes close — so yes, this is f***ed up. And if we don't call it out for what it is... then we will continue to have this kind of bloodshed in America."
This isn't the first time O'Rourke has attracted attention for using profanities.
Back in 2018, while running for Senate in Texas, O'Rourke's opponent, Senator Ted Cruz, ran an attack ad that was essentially just a compilation of Beto O'Rourke cursing at his campaign stops and rallies. In his concession speech in 2018, O'Rourke also dropped an F-bomb that was carried live on-air. Thanking his supporters, O'Rourke said, "I'm so f***ing proud of you guys." Last month, O'Rourke once again used the F-word to lambast members of the press for asking him what President Trump could do to end white supremacist violence in America, going on to explain how the president has emboldened white supremacists by using racist rhetoric.
O'Rourke's cursing habit is not carefully orchestrated, but it does align with his off-the-cuff style.
Beto O'Rourke is at his best when he is speaking his mind in a completely candid fashion, as evidenced by the viral moment that truly propelled his campaign for Senate in 2018. While some may find O'Rourke dropping F-bombs to be "unpresidential," it works perfectly for his image. The unconventional candidate with no-filter who tells it like it is is the Beto that his fiercest supporters love. O'Rourke's expletive-laced comments make news not just because they are unorthodox but also because they echo the sentiments of many Americans, particularly Democrats. Calling mass shootings "f***ed up" is not controversial, it's just true.
If cursing is what helps Beto break through the noise, then so be it.
Dare I say it is refreshing to hear a presidential candidate tell it like it is while still maintaining a sense of decorum and general intelligence about complex policy issues. In this way, O'Rourke is able to stand out from the deep field of Democrats running for president. O'Rourke has a tone that is unrivaled by his opponents, an ability to give free-wheeling speeches at campaign stops that convince the people who are listening the most intently that he is the real deal. His inability to transfer this innate talent for public speaking to the rigid, compressed format of the debate stage has caused him to suffer in the polls. However, creating viral moments with his no-filter delivery may be just what he needs to get to the next round of debates.
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