As a suit-clad bodyguard ushered him away, Democratic White House hopeful and failed senate candidate Beto O'Rourke was pressed by a self-identified Afghanistan veteran on his policy for withdrawing troops at a campaign event in South Carolina.

The former congressman from Texas said that under his administration, there would be an understanding that the U.S. is not capable of determining the internal affairs of another nation and that he would pull out U.S. troops after Afghanistan without hesitation.

"You have the humility of understanding that, as powerful as we are, we cannot determine the internal affairs of other countries," the candidate said, as a bodyguard stood between him and the questioner with a hand on O'Rourke's waist.

The veteran, however, pushed O'Rourke for specifics while holding a beer at the Charleston event.

"Right, but how are you going to get us out of there?" the veteran said.

O'Rourke replied that he would just bring the troops home.

"I understand that. But I served there. It's not as easy as just 'time to go home.' What's your plan for getting us out and not leaving the country the shitshow it is," the veteran responded to O'Rourke.

O'Rourke speaks for nearly a minute after that without providing specifics on a plan to withdraw troops from the country.

"I think the longer we stay, the longer we persist in any foreign policy that has no expectation of succeeding. And as hard as that is for us to swallow as Americans, it is in some way accepting that we are not going to achieve every goal we have in that country," he said.



After a day that was light on foreign policy, @BetoORourke gets pressed about Afghanistan by a local army vet. O’Rourke says he’d bring troops home.



“You have the humility of understanding that, as powerful as we are, we cannot determine the internal affairs of other countries.” pic.twitter.com/7UUdHWukOz — Jamie Lovegrove (@jslovegrove) March 22, 2019



During the back-and-forth, the bodyguard keeps his back to the veteran and into a more open space. An aide finally interrupts the veteran and O'Rourke and separates them.