Beto O'Rourke "enjoys a set of privileges in his decision making that" others do not, former Tallahassee mayor and Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum said Wednesday in an interview with The New York Times.
"Can you imagine it for any of the women that are in the race for president or considering a run?" Gillum said during a wide-ranging interview where he said he was not running for president and outlined his plans to help Democrats win the presidency in 2020.
"They probably could not muse out loud, or in the recesses of their mind have these sorts of conversations and then say them out loud, and think it would be taken seriously or they would be taken seriously."
"I recognize that, but, as I understand it, the congressman also recognizes that there is privilege that accompanies him here," he added. "That doesn't make him less deserving of consideration, it's just something that has to be acknowledged."
O'Rourke, the former representative who lost a close race for senator to Ted Cruz last November in deep-red Texas, announced his candidacy last week.
The Times asked whether O'Rourke's entrance into the presidential race was a "sign of privilege, as some have suggested."
O'Rourke has described himself as a white man who has had privileges, and last week said he would be more thoughtful in "the way in which I acknowledge the truth of the criticism that I have enjoyed white privilege."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.