2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke reminds Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe of a former student he once took under his wing.
As O’Rourke, 46, embarks on his first trip as a candidate, Tribe said the former Texas congressman is showing the fast-paced development he also witnessed in former President Barack Obama.
“.@BetoORourke appears to be absorbing information like a sponge on the campaign trail. He hears and processes everything, forgets nothing. Reminds me in that way, even apart from the charisma, of my brilliant former student, someone you may have heard of: President @BarackObama,” he tweeted.
Beto O’Rourke is a breath of fresh air, totally authentic and every bit as impressive as Barack Obama was at a similar point in his career. Substantive and authentic, grateful to be where he is, eager to listen, able to hear. He should be president. The only question is when.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) October 31, 2018
Tribe taught Obama while he attended Harvard Law School and employed him as a research assistant. Tribe, a vocal Trump critic, has compared Obama to O’Rourke in the past. “Beto O’Rourke is a breath of fresh air, totally authentic and every bit as impressive as Barack Obama was at a similar point in his career. Substantive and authentic, grateful to be where he is, eager to listen, able to hear. He should be president. The only question is when,” he tweeted in October.
[Related: Conservative group’s Iowa attack ad against Beto O’Rourke: He’s no Obama]
Beto O’Rourke is a breath of fresh air, totally authentic and every bit as impressive as Barack Obama was at a similar point in his career. Substantive and authentic, grateful to be where he is, eager to listen, able to hear. He should be president. The only question is when.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) October 31, 2018
O’Rourke announced his presidential campaign on Thursday and started it by traveling to the state which will cast the first votes of the presidential cycle, Iowa, followed by Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. After facing flak for some early gaffes and bizarre writings from his teenage years, O’Rourke quickly apologized. O’Rourke told supporters Sunday there’s “nothing” else in his past that could damage him during the presidential campaign.
His entrance into the race was solidified after raising more than $6 million online in the first 24 hours, beating all the others in the Democratic primary field. O’Rourke served in the House from 2013 to 2019 and ran a closer-than-expected Senate race last year against incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
