Beto O’Rourke Defends Much Panned Debate Performance: ‘I’d Give Myself an A’

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke gave himself a perfect rating for his performance in the DNC’s first 2020 primary debates, despite all the criticisms he faced Wednesday night.

“I’d give myself an ‘A,'” O’Rourke told CNN on Thursday after host Alisyn Camerota asked the former lawmaker to score himself. “I wanted to make sure that I got that point across, I wanted to describe why I’m doing this, who I’m doing it for, the people that inspired me and how we’re going to meet these challenges. And it felt like I was able to get that across.”

As for the attacks specifically made against him by the other participants on the stage, O’Rourke said he felt targetted but added that “that’s part of politics and part of the debate.”

“Certainly, one where you have ten candidates on the stage, each of them trying to make their mark. I choose to define myself not against other people,” he said. “I’m really running not against any of those other candidates but for the United States of America. So I felt like my responsibility was to describe my vision for this country and reflect back so much of what I’ve heard by listening to people all across this country.”

Earlier in the segment, O’Rourke explained that his decision to answer a question in Spanish, unprompted, was reflective of how he held town halls in the past — switching between English and Spanish to communicate with all his constituents. I need [to] be able to listen and speak to everyone in both English and Spanish,” he said.

O’Rourke’s sudden use of Spanish became one of the most popular viral moments of the night, particularly a shot of Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) immediate, stunned reaction.

Cory Booker looking at Beto O’Rourke while he speaks Spanish like “This fuckin’ guy.” pic.twitter.com/JfReY5xuNu

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) June 27, 2019

Aside from Booker’s side-eye, others glared at O’Rourke’s debate performance for his failure to address specific policy goals, even as Warren — the candidate standing next to him — laid out detailed plans. O’Rourke’s sudden pivot to Spanish, for example, arose during one of the policy questions he did not substantially answer, as he was asked if he supports 70 percent marginal tax rates for Americans earning $10 million or more annually.

Watch above, via CNN.