Montage: Beto ‘Definitively’ Promises He’s Not Running for President

Beto O’Rourke is already breaking promises. 

While campaigning to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) during 2018, many in the media thought he was using the campaign to jumpstart a future presidential bid. 

To put that idea to rest, Beto repeatedly assured anyone who was listening that this was flat-out false.

“Definitively” false.

Speaking with 60 Minutes days before his election, O’Rourke told Jon Wertheim: “I’m not looking at 2020. And — and, in fact, am completely ruling that out, not going to do that.”

“No matter what?” Wertheim followed up. “Win or lose you’re not going to run in 2020?”

“Win or lose, I’m not — I’m not running in — in 2020,” O’Rourke promised. “I got to tell you, it’s — it’s incredibly flattering that anyone would ask me the question or that that’s even up for discussion. But, but since people have asked, the answer’s no.”

In a CNN townhall, O’Rourke was equally emphatic. 

A participant asked: “Do you foresee yourself running for the president [sic] of the United States?”

“The answer is no,” O’Rourke told the voter. “But my wife is the only one to clap during that. Our children are 11, they’re 10, and 7 years old. We’ve told them we’re going to take these almost two years out of our life to run this race, and then we’re devoted and committed to being a family again. 10 that’s what we’re focused on.”

O’Rouke offered MSNBC the same assurance.

Asked at a campaign rally if he was “definitively” ruling out running for president, O’Rourke said he was. 

“I will not be a candidate for president in 2020,” he said. “That’s I think as definitive as that’s I think as definitive as those sentences get.“