Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) said Tuesday that he regrets launching his 2020 presidential campaign on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine because it reinforced the perception of his “privilege.”

On Tuesday’s “The View” on ABC, co-host Meghan McCain Meghan Marguerite McCainKasich to Meghan McCain: Concern over abortion 'dwarfed' by need to beat Trump Meghan McCain says she believes report Trump called fallen soldiers 'losers' Meghan McCain hits Ivanka Trump's defense of president's Twitter: It's not a 'communication style,' it's 'cruelty' MORE said she did not believe a female candidate would be able to get away with some of the things O’Rourke has said and done over the course of his presidential campaign, including the Vanity Fair spread, in which O’Rourke is quoted as saying he was “born” to run for president.

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O’Rourke said he regrets the decision to make his launch announcement on the glossy society magazine and apologized for some of his past remarks.

“It reinforces that perception of privilege,” O’Rourke said. “And that headline that said I was born to be in this, in the article I was attempting to say that my calling is in public service. No one is born to be president of the United States of America, least of all me.”

Beto O’Rourke on criticisms of his ‘Vanity Fair’ “born to be in it” remark: “I was attempting to say that I felt my calling was in public service — no one is born to be President of the United States of America.”



“I have a lot to learn, and I still am.” https://t.co/f8u2wc159S pic.twitter.com/eQ5TKpXdAa — The View (@TheView) May 14, 2019

O’Rourke was also asked to explain his comments in the magazine piece about how he “sometimes” helps his wife Amy raise their children.

“In a real ham-handed way, I was trying to acknowledge that [Amy] has the lion’s share of responsibility in this campaign,” O’Rourke said. “Not only does she work, she is the principal caregiver to our kids, is supporting me, and campaigns with me.”

O’Rourke said he called his wife after the remarks ran and she told him that he could have made his point more elegantly.

“I have a lot to learn and I still am,” O’Rourke said.

O'Rourke is making the network and cable television rounds as he seeks to rejuvenate his flagging campaign.

The O'Rourke campaign had been committed to staying off the Washington-New York television circuit, preferring instead to put the candidate in front of small crowds at town hall events across the country. But O'Rourke has been dropping in the polls, leading him to "reintroduce" himself to voters through interviews on national television.