Spin-tastic! Beto O'Rourke explains 'meager donations to charity' (Hint: 'Public service' for the charitable WIN)

We told you on Tuesday that Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke’s tax return release immediately brought him even more problems to deal with, and some of the questions that arose had to do with his charitable contributions:

Beto O’Rourke and his wife earned $370,412 in 2017 — and donated just $1,166 to charities. @jameshohmann notes that’s one-third of 1 percent of their income. https://t.co/OlHkV2dBWj

— Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) April 16, 2019

On the campaign trail in Virginia, after being asked about charitable contributions, things somehow got even worse for O’Rourke with his attempt to explain:

Beto O'Rourke defends meager donations to charity, saying he sacrifices through public service https://t.co/yh32OXT1DO

— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) April 17, 2019

“Sacrifices through public service”? Yeah, pretty much:

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

Everybody “gives back” in their own way:

In lieu of giving to actual charities, this husband of a billionaire heiress runs for political office all the time. https://t.co/T8uXtFNEpn

— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) April 17, 2019

From the Dallas Morning News:

Beto O’Rourke defended his meager rate of charitable giving on Tuesday night, saying that he doesn’t report all of his donations to the IRS and in any case, he contributes in other ways through his work in politics.

“I’ve served in public office since 2005. I do my best to contribute to the success of my community, my state and now, of my country. There are ways that I do this that are measurable. And there are ways that I do this that are immeasurable,” he said.
[…]
“There are charities that we’ve donated to that we’ve recorded and itemized, others that we’ve donated to that we have not,” O’Rourke said. “I’ll tell you, I’m doing everything I can right now, spending this time with you, not with our kiddos, not back home in El Paso, because I want to sacrifice everything to make sure that we meet this moment of truth with everything we’ve got.”