Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke didn’t appear to have a care in the world Friday night after facing-off against Republican Senator Ted Cruz in the first debate for the Texas Senate.
O’Rourke, 45, returned to his favorite fast food joint, Whataburger, where he appeared to celebrate the end of his hour-long clash but grabbing some junk and revisiting his punk rock band days.
In a clip streamed as part of a 45-minute Facebook Live broadcast, the politician excitedly air-drums through The Who’s Baba O’Riley with passengers in the car he’s driving.
Speaking about the synthesizer and piano, the former Foss musician grins and pumps up the volume before hitting imaginary keys.
Beto O’Rourke, 45, returned to his favorite fast food joint, Whataburger, and played the air-drums on Friday
The Democratic Congressman also pretended to play the piano at one point in the video
The former punk rocker was celebrating after addressing gun control, immigration and police brutality in the US in the first Texas Senate debate
‘I’m gonna scoot back my chair for the drums,’ he warns before limbering up his arms and going for it on the snare and hi-hat.
‘That’s all I wanna do is play air-drums,’ he laughs but it’s time to move on to the next window at the drive-thru before he can really show his social media followers what he’s made of when it comes to playing bass.
At one point in the clip he declares: ‘This might be the best song ever written’ about the 1971 track from the Who’s Next album.
As O’Rourke prepares to chow down on a burger he mimes the words which include:
‘Out here in the fields/I fight for my meals/I get my back into my living.’
The lyrics go on to say: ‘I don’t need to fight/To prove I’m right/I don’t need to be forgiven.’
He faced-off with Republican Ted Cruz ahead of the November 6 election where O’Rourke is hoping to swing Texas liberal as he seeks votes for the Democrats
It’s not the first time he’s featured in a viral video at the fast food chain.
O’Rourke famously skateboarded through Whataburger and is believed to have gained the attention of young voters for it.
He was feeling fairly Friday jolly considering the serious subjects tackled in the debate earlier that evening.
Cruz refused to directly answer O’Rourke as he questioned him about ongoing police violence against unarmed African-Americans in the United States.
When asked whether he thought it was a problem in the country, the 47-year-old conservative switched the focus from race when speaking to his liberal competitor.
Instead he suggested it’s a case of protecting law enforcement during the hour-long debate at Southern Methodist University.
‘I believe everyone’s rights should be protected, regardless of your race, regardless of your ethnicity,’ Cruz said. ‘But I’ll tell you something, I’ve been to too many police funerals.’
Democratic US Representative Beto O’Rourke joined Cruz in a debate for the Texas Senate
Cruz went on the attack moments after stepping on the stage, saying his opponent suggested that law enforcement officers embodied ‘modern-day Jim Crow’ laws in response to a question about Guyger.
O’Rourke responded that the accusation was ‘simply not true.’
Cruz appeared to be referring to O’Rourke previously suggesting that inherent biases in the criminal justice system promote racism.
Republican Cruz has used his campaign to attack his opponent for defending NFL players’ right to protest police brutality during the national anthem.
Cruz offered no compromise on hardline immigration measures or gun control, months after a mass shooting at a high school near Houston.
During the debate Cruz admitted that his Democrat competitor was giving him a ‘real race,’ but is banking his re-election on energizing Republican voters who have denied Texas Democrats from winning any statewide office in the last 25 years.
Moderators pleaded for them to stop and for the audience to stop hooting during the debate
When Cruz tried to say O’Rourke wanted to abolish the Second Amendment, the Democrat said it wasn’t so, and the candidates sniped while the moderators pleaded for them to stop and for the audience to stop hooting.
O’Rourke said Texas was ready for a senator who will protect the Second Amendment while imposing small restrictions to save lives and prevent mass shootings.
He suggested those were supported by ‘gunowners and non-gunowners alike,’ and that offering ‘thoughts and prayers’ wasn’t enough.
‘I’m sorry you don’t like thoughts and prayers,’ he said. ‘I will pray for anyone in harm’s way.’
The pair will meet again for a public debate next weekend in Cruz’s hometown of Houston
Cruz was also asked whether Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser could say anything that might make him question his support for the nomination.
Cruz said ‘absolutely,’ but didn’t elaborate while calling the allegations serious.
The incumbent also criticized O’Rourke’s past support for legalizing marijuana, evoking his older half-sister, Miriam, who died of a drug overdose.
O’Rourke, meanwhile, has been open about his 1998 arrest for drunken driving in El Paso, but said for the first time Friday that he did not try to flee the scene, as a witness suggested in the police report. He called the incident a ‘terrible mistake’.
The pair will square off again next weekend in Cruz’s hometown of Houston, and a third and final debate is set for San Antonio three weeks before the November 6 election.