Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said 2020 Democratic hopeful Beto O’Rourke has disqualified himself from becoming president by questioning whether the Constitution was still relevant.
“Anybody who questions the validity of the Constitution — whether it works in the modern era — should never be president,” Crenshaw said in a Washington Examiner interview.
This week, O’Rourke, who has just vacated his Texas seat in the House of Representatives after an unsuccessful Senate bid, mused about the relevance of the Constitution. “I think that’s the question of the moment: Does this still work? Can an empire like ours … still be managed by the same principles that were set down 230-plus years ago?” he asked.
Crenshaw pulled no punches against his fellow Texan, taking him to task for bringing Instagram live viewers with him to a recent dentist appointment as he got his teeth cleaned. “If you get your teeth cleaned on Instagram live, it shows that you’re just out of touch. That doesn’t make you relatable or cool. It just makes you weird.”
The former Navy SEAL, who was seriously wounded in Afghanistan in 2012, noted that several Democrats have used the Instagram feature, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “No, guys, it’s just not — don’t do that … They’re trying to be like AOC,” Crenshaw said, referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. “She kind of gets it. She kind of understands how to do that.”
[Related: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to tutor older Democrats on how to tweet]
Crenshaw, who represents parts of suburban Houston, won his seat for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District in November when O’Rourke fell short in a close race against. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Crenshaw outperformed O’Rourke by 12 points in Harris County, where Houston sits.
O’Rourke is weighing a 2020 presidential bid for the Democratic nomination and driving through parts of America on an informal tour of the country. He wrote in a Medium post Wednesday that he has been “stuck lately,” particularly since leaving Congress on Jan. 2 following his loss to Cruz, and is looking to “clear my head.”
“Have been stuck lately. In and out of a funk. My last day of work was January 2nd. It’s been more than twenty years since I was last not working,” O’Rourke wrote “Maybe if I get moving, on the road, meet people, learn about what’s going on where they live, have some adventure, go where I don’t know and I’m not known, it’ll clear my head, reset, I’ll think new thoughts, break out of the loops I’ve been stuck in.”
