Newly minted Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke responded on Sunday to the GOP's Saint Patrick's Day tweet featuring his 1998 mugshot, saying that American voters aren't interested in "personal attacks."
During a talk with reporters in Wisconsin, the former Texas Rep. argued that people care more about the bigger picture. "I take from that that people want us focused on the big picture. They want us to be defined not by this pettiness or the personal attacks that we see in ones like the ad that you just described," O'Rourke said. "They wanted us to be defined by our ambitions, our aspirations, the work that we're willing to do to pull this very, deeply-divided country together."
O'Rourke then pointed out that no reporters asked him about his decades-old DWI during any of the 20-plus campaign events he has attended over the past three days, nor was he "asked to say something negative about another candidate or someone from another party."
.@BetoORourke responds to @GOP St. Patrick’s Day tweet featuring his mug shot
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) March 17, 2019
“I think people want us focused on the big picture. They want us to be defined not by this pettiness or the personal attacks that we see in ones like the ad that you just described.” pic.twitter.com/AHcyPHWGsm
The official Republican National Committee (RNC) Twitter account on Sunday published a 1998 mugshot of O'Rourke with a leprechaun hat photoshopped over his head and the words "please drink responsibly" on a placard underneath.
"On this St. Paddy's Day, a special message from noted Irishman Robert Francis O'Rourke," the Republican party wrote, alongside the image.
O'Rourke has previously discussed getting a DWI more than 20 years ago. At the time, authorities dismissed the charge following his completion of a diversion program. O'Rourke was also arrested in three years before the DWI for hopping a fence on the campus of the University of Texas. He spent the night in custody and was released on bail the next day.
"Both incidents were due to poor judgement and I have no excuse for my behavior then," O'Rourke said in August 2017. "I'm grateful for the second chance and believe that we all deserve second chances."
On this St. Paddy's Day, a special message from noted Irishman Robert Francis O'Rourke. pic.twitter.com/JRjMEXhZRY
— GOP (@GOP) March 17, 2019
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