Texas Lt. Governor calls Beto O’Rourke a ‘moron’

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) called former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) a “moron” Monday night, lambasting the Democratic presidential candidate’s positions on border security and reparations for the descendants of slaves, according to Mediaite.

Asked by Fox News’s Laura Ingraham if O’Rourke was “a little more reasonable not so long ago,” Patrick responded that O’Rourke “is so light in the loafers, he floats off the ground at times.”

{mosads}“When he ran [in 2018 against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)], he had $80 million, he was on television every commercial break for months and months, he never said anything,” Patrick added, dismissing a poll that found O’Rourke and several other Democratic contenders in a dead heat with Trump in the Lone Star State, saying it was based on name recognition.

“Light in the loafers” is an archaic term frequently used as a euphemism for gay men, which Ingraham hastened to give Patrick a chance to clarify was not his intent. “What I mean is, he flaps his arms a lot,” Patrick said. “I meant he’s a lightweight.”

O’Rourke earlier this week released an ambitious $5 trillion plan to address climate change but has frequently been criticized from the left, including by Democratic competitor Washington Gov. Jay Inslee for his ties to the energy industry and history of oil industry-friendly votes in Congress.