Beto O'Rourke jokes about threatening kitten to attract more donors

Beto O'Rourke was asked on Saturday at an event in Austin, Texas, if he'd stay in the race if he didn't meet the elevated qualifications to appear on the debate stage alongside fellow Democrats in November.

He said that he would, joking, while at the Texas Tribune Festival, that hitting his fundraising goal could require a Facebook livestream and a kitten.

O'Rourke, the former representative, joked with the moderator Garrett Haake, an NBC correspondent, about theatrically snagging a few new donors.

"You know, it's kind of raising the ante or the bar for how we compete for those dollars," O'Rourke said. "I mean, I could maybe do a Facebook livestream with a kitten and, say, you know, 'Now, we don't want anything to happen to the kitten ... and so, you know, send your $5 or $10 or $15 in now. And, you know, Miss Whiskers is going to be fine.'"

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/beto-orourke-jokes-kitten-attract-donors/story?id=65927884

The response was delayed after comments made in the first debate, but Cory and Julián just got burned without having their names mentioned.