The Democratic candidate for the gubernatorial post of Texas, Beto O’Rourke, has called Greg Abbott a thug and an authoritarian. Not just that, he has also likened the current governor of Texas to the Russian president Vladimir Putin. As governor, Abbott has been the spearhead behind several draconian laws, which include abortion, voting, and LGBTQ+ rights. In the February of 2021, he was also responsible for the failure of the state energy grid during the cold weather- which led to the death of hundreds. O’Rourke has been a former congressman as well as a candidate for both the Democratic presidential nomination as well as the US Senate. On Saturday, he slammed the Governor at the SXSW festival in Austin.
Greg Abbott Called A Thug And An Authoritarian
In his interview with Evan Smith, the co-founder of the Texas Tribune, O’Rourke wasn’t one to mince words. He went on to call Abbott a thug and an authoritarian. This was brought on by his statement that he had met the ambassador from the European Union, and they had spoken about the rise of dictators and thugs around the world. Incidentally, they had one such thug in their own state as well.
Comparing Greg Abbott to a Russian oligarch, O’Rourke has definitely brought about a few thoughts in the minds of the citizens of Texas. As it stands, Russian oligarchs are mostly billionaire businessmen who are the ones to control the fortunes that are based often on natural resources. They also work closely with the President of Russia and have been subjected to a vast number of sanctions since their President ordered the invasion of Ukraine. It goes without saying, Abbott’s role in the failure of the state power grid does make him one such oligarch.
On the other hand, the campaign of Greg Abbott stated that Beto O’Rourke used fear-mongering to run a campaign against the Governor.