Beto O'Rourke's Interview with PBS Newshour - Why He's Right

The Interview

In case you missed it, on Monday (7/21/2025) Beto O'Rourke was interviewed on PBS Newshour for an interview. It was the most honest, powerful, and simple messaging I have seen from a Democrat in a very long time. The interview touched a number of topics, but his message was clear: Democrats must stop whining and fight.

On Gerrymandering

The primary focus of the interview was about how Democrats should respond to Republican gerrymandering in Texas. Donald Trump has asked Texas lawmakers to redraw their congressional districts and the plan appears to be moving forward. When asked how Democrats should respond, he was clear and direct:

Democrats have an opportunity to fight back in Texas. The state House Democrats could walk out and deny their colleagues a quorum. We have governors like Gavin Newsom, who have threatened to redistrict in Democrats' favor in their states, which I'm in favor of... We have to fight back and we have to fight fire with fire.

When asked why he thought Democrats were not doing more, he correctly noted that Democrats have been "More interested in being right than being in power" but that in order to respond to the Trump administration:

"We have to be ruthlessly focused about winning, holding onto power, and then using that power to fix a a badly broken system that is not working for tens of millions of our fellow Americans..."

Given an opportunity hedge his call for partisan gerrymandering, O'Rourke doubled down, imploring Democrats:

Fight back with everything we have, nothing off the table.

Beto is 100% correct. Democrats cannot afford to be polite losers anymore.

On Palestine

O'Rourke spoke just as clearly about the genocide in Palestine as he did about Democratic politics. In an display of honesty, logical consistency, and backbone that was entirely off-brand for a Democrat, he spoke the obvious truth in plain English:

we can't be saying that we're for a two-state solution or offer mealymouthed platitudes. We have to stop being complicit in the bombing and the starving and the slaughtering of innocent children in Gaza and use the awesome power of this country to convene the nations of that region and of the planet, if that's what it takes, to establish an independent sovereign Palestinian state and do what we can to guarantee the safety of every Palestinian, every Israeli, every person in that region.People want to see us boldly stand up for the things that we really care about and the things that really matter.

My jaw dropped. Anyone who has been paying attention knows that Isreal is committing genocide before our eyes, with our weapons. But actually hearing the words come from a Democrat with a National profile was something I was not ready for.

On the Democratic Party and It's Leadership

O'Rourke was asked whether these policies would be perceived as 'too progressive,' and he correctly pointed out that this progressive v. moderate divide was not the correct way to analyze the situation:

I think what people want is a Democratic Party that will fight. And so the division is between those who submit and give in and bend the knee and those who are willing to fight back with all that they have got.

He went on to (correctly) asses that Chuck Schumer bailing out Trumpp by passing the continuing resolution was a mistake. He even answered directly when asked whether it was time for Schumer to leave leadership: "I do." He went further, "We need to deliver and we need to be absolutely clrea about that. And if he's not getting that done, time to get out of the way and for someoneelse to step up and lead."

When asked whether he would consider running for political office again in the future, O'Rourke said that he was happy to continue his role as a private citizen helping to register voters in Texas. When asked whether he was ruling it out - he stated that he had not ruled it out. That's as clear as you're going to get from a soon-to-be candidate, and I am looking forward to him making it official.