Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke lost his temper with a heckler during a Wednesday campaign event in Mineral Wells, Texas.
The failed 2020 presidential candidate swore at his critic after the individual laughed during O’Rourke’s anti-gun remarks.
The exclamation came as O’Rourke described what he maintains are the capabilities of an AR-15-style rifle.
“It may be funny to you, motherf***er, but it’s not funny to me,” the Democrat said.
It’s possible that the person was reacting to O’Rourke’s claim that the AR-15 was designed to “penetrate an enemy soldier’s helmet at 500 feet.”
WARNING: The following video contains language that some viewers will find offensive.
Beto O’Rourke loses his temper with a man in a Mineral Wells campaign event pic.twitter.com/SyDqAGnaB9
— Richard (@Wildman_AZ) August 11, 2022
O’Rourke continued with his gun control speech without further addressing the heckler.
Will O’Rourke win the Texas gubernatorial election?
Footage of the town hall shows at least one attendee holding a campaign placard for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
O’Rourke is known for endorsing extreme gun control policy as a 2020 presidential candidate, calling for the forcible seizure of legal firearms in the presidential primary. He indicated that he expected obedience from American gun owners in the event that his gun confiscation idea became law.
He’s flip-flopped on his trademark policy as a gubernatorial candidate, downplaying the idea before freshly touting it on the campaign trail.
O’Rourke said he was “not interested in taking anything from anyone” and that he wanted to “defend the Second Amendment” as recently as February. In a May town hall, however, he said, “I don’t think the people who have [AR-15s] right now in civilian use should be able to keep them.”
O’Rourke appeared to be overwhelmed with protesters in Rockdale, Texas, on Monday.
Protesters greeting Beto in Rockdale, Texas. This dude will be unemployed in late November. pic.twitter.com/JKcyGo8Gjs
— The W&J Show w/ Kenny Webster (@WaltonNJohnson) August 8, 2022
O’Rourke’s 2022 campaign is his third in four years. The former congressman ran for U.S. Senate in 2018, losing to Ted Cruz.