Democratic candidate for Texas Governor Beto O'Rourke has drawn widespread praise after shutting down a heckler at a campaign stop who mocked O'Rourke's take on gun violence.
O'Rourke was speaking about gun control at a town hall in the city of Mineral Wells. While he spoke of the May mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children and two teachers were murdered, a man in the crowd laughed.
And O'Rourke wasn't about to let it slide. He whirled around on the man and slammed him with an NSFW clapback that has struck people as a rare moment of sincerity from a politician.
See the moment below.
WARNING: NSFW language
After hearing the man laughing in the background, O'Rourke whirled around and said:
“It may be funny to you, motherf—er, but it’s not funny to me.”
The crowd immediately erupted in cheers and applause.
The moment came while O'Rourke was explaining how an AR-15, the weapon used by the Uvalde gunman, was designed for the Vietnam War for the specific purpose of penetrating armored helmets from a distance of 50 feet.
The Uvalde gunman, who obtained his AR-15 legally, was at times within just five feet of his 21 victims.
The man who laughed was believed to be part of a group of supporters of incumbent Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, of whom O'Rourke has been critical and whom he confronted directly during a May press conference over his inaction on gun violence.
Abbott's and Republican Senator Ted Cruz's responses to the tragedy have been by turns callous and totally out of touch with the facts: Both have called for more armed security and teachers in schools, a move proven in studies to increase violence in schools.
There has been plenty of criticism to go around for Texas Republicans' response to gun violence, but rarely if ever has a politician been willing to be so blunt.
And on Twitter, people identified with and applauded O'Rourke's lack of patience on the issue and those who continue to oppose meaningful action.
This is O’Rourke at his best. Unrehearsed, just a real response that resonates with so many fed up people.
— Walker Bragman (@WalkerBragman) August 11, 2022
Beto may not win (he deserves to) but he’s exactly the kind of Democrat that needs to run throughout the country
— Red Devereaux (@RedDevereaux) August 11, 2022
Abbott is still heavily favored to win the governor's race in November, but his lead over O'Rourke is rapidly narrowing. After starting the year a whopping 17 points ahead of O'Rourke, polling from last week shows that lead has now halved to just under eight points.
