Potential Prez Candidate O'Rourke Livestreams Teeth-Cleaning at Dentist
Some politicians, particularly younger ones, are making the most of social media, using it to communicate with their constituents, potential voters and others in a more personal way than has been traditional. One of them is former three-term Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas, who got national attention for his campaign challenging Republican Senator Ted Cruz in the midterms that came close but fell short, and in now considering a 2020 presidential run.
One of the things that drove his Senate bid was his use of social media to let people into his life on the campaign trail, but some critics are saying he may have gone too far yesterday when he live-streamed his teeth-cleaning at the dentist on Instagram.
Ana Marie Cox, founding editor of the political blog Wonkette, tweeted, "Love me some Beto but this is self-parody territory."
O'Rourke began by saying, "So, I'm here at the dentist," and filmed himself with dental implements in his mouth and talking with his dental hygienist about life on the U.S.-Mexico border in their city of El Paso. O'Rourke did the livestream amid the partial government shutdown over the border wall battle as part of a series on "people of the border."
(Pulse Networks)