BETO BLOCKED
Beto O’Rourke quits 2020 race after running out of money and gets trolled by Trump for saying he was ‘born for this’
DEMOCRAT Beto O'Rourke has pulled out of the 2020 presidential race after running out of money.
The 47-year-old former-Texas congressman's announcement was mocked by Donald Trump who quoted his claim to be "born for this".
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This now leaves 17 Democrats to battle it out and take on Trump or another Republic candidate next year.
On Twitter, O'Rourke wrote: "It is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully."
Just over 20 minutes after his announcement Trump fired back with a mocking message.
He wrote: "Oh no, Beto just dropped out of race for President despite him saying he was 'born for this.' I don’t think so!"
'ELECTION OF OUR LIFETIME'
In his statement, O'Rourke added that he was "grateful" to his supporters who he named the "heart and soul" of the campaign.
He wrote that those who volunteered, donated or spread the word helped in his bid to "decide the election of our lifetime".
In a later tweet O'Rourke added: "We can turn this moment of great peril into a moment of great promise for America and the world."
The Texan was encouraged to run after he narrowly lost his seat in congress to Senator Ted Cruz in the 2018 midterms.
He was encouraged to run after this achievement in a reliably red state and visited all of Texas' 254 counties in the campaign trail.
O'Rourke encouraged supporters to share his messages over social media and live stream his events.
Hell yes, we are going to take your AR-15.
Beto O'Rourke, former-Democratic nominee
Earlier this year, his hometown of El Paso was targeted in a mass shooting that left 22 dead and 24 injured.
O'Rourke championed plans for tighter gun controls and limitations on the types of weapons available to the public.
In a statement he famously stated: "Hell yes, we are going to take your AR-15."
'THE GREATEST CHALLENGES WE'VE EVER FACED'
In a O'Rourke stated that during his presidential bid he hoped to unite the country.
He wrote: "I believed that I could help bring a divided country together in common cause to confront the greatest set of challenges we’ve ever faced."
O'Rourke described the most fundamental of those was fear, which he claimed was encouraged by the President.
"The fear that Donald Trump wants us to feel about one another," he wrote.
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O'Rourke continued that his team will do all they can to help "heal a wounded county and bring us together".
He added: "I’m confident I will see you down the road, and I look forward to that day."