Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, called presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke a “moron” and said he was “light in the loafers” — a 1950s expression used to describe gay men.
During an appearance with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Monday evening, Patrick took a shot at O’Rourke for having “no substance.”
“Whatever happened to this guy?!” Ingraham said. “What happened to this guy? Wasn’t he a little more reasonable not so long ago? Was he always this left-wing? He never left the punk-rock weird—”
Patrick denied that O’Rourke was not as liberal at one point and then added: “He is so light in the loafers, he floats off the ground at times.”
Later, Ingraham walked back to clarify what Patrick meant by the expression “light in the loafers” because “people might think something else.”
“You just meant not consequential, correct? You didn’t mean any pejorative, right?” Ingraham asked.
“No, no, no! What I mean is he flaps his arms a lot,” Patrick said.
“He’s just a lightweight,” he added.
O’Rourke, who lost his bid for Senate against Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 midterm election, is part of the crowded field of candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination for the 2020 elections. He is running against lawmakers including Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and former vice president Joe Biden.
