The Republican National Committee mocked “noted Irishman” 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke with a St. Patrick’s Day “special message” that drew stern criticism from conservative figures.
In a tweet Sunday, the GOP linked the 46-year-old’s 1998 drunken driving arrest to his Irish heritage.
“On this St. Paddy’s Day, a special message from noted Irishman Robert Francis O’Rourke,” the post said, which featured his mugshot with a leprechaun hat atop his head, along with the message “Please drink responsibly.”
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
The swipe at O’Rourke came days after O’Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso who challenged incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, last year, announced his candidacy for president, and while he embarked on his first 2020-focused trip through such key states as Iowa and Wisconsin.
Asked to respond to the tweet while in Milwaukee, O’Rourke said, “People want us focused on the big picture, on our goals. They want us to be defined not by this pettiness or the personal attacks that we see.”
Watch as @BetoORourke reacts to a @GOP #StPatricksDay tweet that mocked O’Rourke’s decades-old DWI.
“People want us focused on the big picture, on our goals. They want us to be defined not by this pettiness or the personal attacks that we see.” pic.twitter.com/5rwjm78pDr
— Kasie DC (@KasieDC) March 17, 2019
Conservatives denounced the message as unbecoming.
“Do better, @GOP,” tweeted Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., who has criticized his party for its decorum during the Trump presidency. “Be better.”
Doug Stafford, an aide to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also denounced the tweet. “If you think you’re funny or clever by stereotyping and making fun of any race or nationality to score political points, you’re an idiot, and you should probably not tweet,” Stafford said.
Conservative commentator Erick Erickson suggested the RNC’s commentary was petty and childish. “Will an adult please take the Twitter keys away from whichever child is tweeting at the RNC?” he wrote in a Twitter post.
According to a 1998 police report, the then-26-year-old O’Rourke drunkenly slammed his vehicle into a truck, flipping himself over the median and into oncoming traffic, and witnesses said he then tried to flee the scene of the accident.
O’Rourke was charged with DWI, but the charges were dismissed after he completed a court-approved diversion program.
