FAIRFIELD, Iowa (AP) – Democratic presidential contender Beto O’Rourke is acknowledging mistakes he made as a teen and as a candidate as he responds to criticism of his campaign rhetoric toward his wife as well as writings he produced online as a teenager.
While taping the “Political Party Live” podcast in Iowa on Friday, he said his joke that his wife had raised their three kids “sometimes with my help” was a “ham-handed” attempt to highlight her work. He said that criticism of his comment was “right on” and that he won’t make the remark again.
He also said he was “mortified” by the violent fiction he wrote as at 15. O’Rourke wrote a handful of posts on a hacker group’s message board, including a fictional piece about children getting run over by a car.
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