Texas State Rep. Beto O'Rourke was one of several 2020 presidential candidates to release his tax returns this month. When he did, he was wide open to scrutiny. Despite earning a combined total of $370,412 in 2017, O'Rourke and his wife donated less than 1 percent to charity.
Here's how much of their income 2020 Dems gave to charity in 2017:
— Jordan Weissmann (@JHWeissmann) April 16, 2019
Beto - 0.31% (no, that's not a typo)
Harris - 1.4%
Gillibrand - 1.7%
Klobuchar - 1.9%
Sanders - 3.4%
Inslee - 4%
Warren - 5.5%
Why does it not surprise me that Warren leads the pack? https://t.co/UVw0QEEqEU
The liberal outlet Slate even called him a Scrooge.
"So, O’Rourke’s number is self-evidently terrible," they wrote. "I thought maybe it was just one bad year, but alas, no. In 2016, he and his wife donated $857, or 0.25 percent of their income. In 2015, they gave $867, or 0.24 percent of their income. Not great, Beto."
A young man confronted the Texas politician about it at a Tuesday night town hall, wondering how his sister, who earns far less than him, managed to donate far more of her salary to charitable causes. In his response, O'Rourke explained that some of the ways he gives back to his community are "immeasurable." There are also some charities he and his wife have donated to that they "haven't recorded."
Beto O'Rourke, tonight, when asked by a student why her sister donates more to charity than him ($1,166 in 2017) despite earning substantially less than his family: pic.twitter.com/nD2a0YxETE
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) April 17, 2019
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) came out on top of charitable contributions, having given 5.5 percent of her income away.
Meanwhile, Democrats are angling for the release of President Trump's tax returns, telling the IRS it has until to April 23 produce them. According to acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, that'll "never" happen.