Beto O'Rourke claims his children made him change his mind about running for president

Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke claimed that his children persuaded him to run for president after he had already said that he wouldn't because it would destroy his family.

O'Rourke was asked by Gayle King on "CBS This Morning" to explain why he changed his mind when he said that his children convinced him to run for president because they were concerned about the consequences of the generation before them.

"But I'm curious about your family decision," said King. "Because after the '60 Minutes' interview, I know everybody has a right to change their minds, you were you so adamant about 'I'm not gonna do it, the family would not survive,' and Henry your youngest said, 'I would cry every day if you run for the presidency.'"

"Yeah," O'Rourke confirmed.

"So what changed for you and the family?" she asked.

"After the campaign that we ran for Texas," O'Rourke explained, "and after election night, the best decision was made by my wife Amy, where she said, 'there are lots of people who are talking about us doing lots of different things, let's instead of trying to figure that out right now, just spend some time as a family.'

"As Amy and I came closer to making this decision," he continued, "we didn't have a sit-down conversation with our kids, they just voluntarily started offering advice, 'Hey dad, if you run this is how I think you should do it,' or 'Hey dad, you gotta run because of this or that issue.'

"These are the conversations on the ride home from school or to basketball practice," he added.

"On their own, they would encourage you," King interrupted in a disbelieving tone, "unsolicited, really?"

"Unsolicited," O'Rourke claimed, "and I honestly did not expect that. But I think they're just as sensitive to what's going on in the world right now.

"They understand that they will inherit the consequences of the choices that you and I make at this moment," he concluded, "and they're counting on us to make the right ones."

O'Rourke has three children, Ulysses who is 12 years old, Molly who is 10 years old, and Henry who is 8 years old.

Here's the video of O'Rourke's odd statement:

Beto O'Rourke on why he changed his mind on 2020www.youtube.com