Meghan McCain Grills Beto O’Rourke on Campaign Announcement: “Do You Regret the Vanity Fair Cover?”

When Beto O’Rourke first announced his presidential campaign in Vanity Fair, he drew heat for proclaiming that he was “born to be in” the race. O’Rourke has since found himself trailing behind Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Bernie Sanders in the polls, but on Tuesday morning, he attempted to turn things around with an appearance on The View. The presidential hopeful may have been expecting a softball interview, but Meghan McCain delivered exactly the opposite when she grilled him about his campaign announcement, asking point-blank, “Do you regret the Vanity Fair cover?” O’Rourke initially avoided answering, but he soon admitted that he “deserved” the blowback, as “it reinforces the perception of privilege.” Said O’Rourke, “No one is born to be president of the United States of America, least of all me.”

After giving co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro a chance to get in their questions, McCain, who has openly criticized O’Rourke on The View in the past, came out swinging. “You did a Vanity Fair cover to announce your campaign and you said you were, quote, ‘Born to be in it.’ You went on a road trip alone after you lost your election [to Ted Cruz], and you said you, quote, ‘Sometimes help raise your kids,'” said McCain. “Do you think you can get away with more because you’re a man? And do you have any regrets about launching on the cover of Vanity Fair?”

O’Rourke initially skirted around the question, saying that he has “been privileged” in life and promising to do “everything in [his] power to correct” those type of inequalities. But McCain wouldn’t let him off the hook, asking again, “Do you regret the Vanity Fair cover?” Co-host Joy Behar also noticed that O’Rourke was deflecting. “Were those things that she mentioned, would you say those were mistakes? Being on the cover of Vanity Fair? It looks elitist, what?” asked Behar. “Yeah, I think it reinforces that perception of privilege,” said O’Rourke, finally answering the question. “That headline that said I was born to be in this — in the article I was attempting to say that I felt that my calling was in public service. No one is born to be president of the United States of America, least of all me.”

Behar then asked about “the part-time dad thing,” prompting O’Rourke to say he “deserved” getting flack for that comment. He went on to say that he was trying to say, “in a real ham-handed way,” that his wife has “the lion’s share of the responsibility during this campaign.” O’Rourke explained that after he “got that criticism,” his wife schooled him on his word choice. “She said, ‘I know what you’re trying to say, and I really appreciate where you’re coming from, but the way in which you said it sounds flip. It minimizes what I’m doing, and frankly, what a lot of other women in this country are doing,'” he recalled. “So, listen, I have a lot to learn, and still am.”

Watch O’Rourke discuss his Vanity Fair cover in the clip above.

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