Beto O'Rourke knocks Joe Biden as a 'return to the past'
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Former Congressman Beto O'Rourke is stepping up his criticism of the 2020 Democratic primary's frontrunner.
O'Rourke in an interview with MSNBC on Thursday morning said that "we cannot return to the past" while running through his "ambitious" and "aspirational" proposals. Numerous Democratic candidates have made similar comments that seemed to be a response to Biden's presence in the race, but they've often avoided directly calling him out. In this interview, though, O'Rourke named names.
When asked if Biden is a "return to the past" as he mentioned, O'Rourke quickly replied, "He is. And that cannot be who we are going forward. We've got to be bigger. We've got to be bolder."
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Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski seemed to immediately take note of how uncommonly direct this criticism was, offering a "wow" after O'Rourke's statement, while NBC's Heidi Przybyla noted this is his "most pointed jab yet against Biden." Watch the moment below. Brendan Morrow
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
