Beto blasted for wearing 'Don't mess with trans kids' shirt: 'High levels of cringe'

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke was blasted on social media after posting a photo of himself wearing a shirt that said, "Don’t mess with trans kids," a play on the popular phrase "Don’t mess with Texas."

O’Rourke, who recently won the Democratic primary for governor and will square off against Texas’s incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in November, posted a photo of himself wearing the shirt Thursday morning, when it quickly trended on Twitter with many conservatives mocking him for the choice of clothing.

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"This should do wonders for your poll numbers, @BetoORourke!" political commentator Benny Johnson tweeted.

"Yeah, this will really resonate with Texans," former NYPD officer and political commentator John Cardillo tweeted. 

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"Hi Beto, how about just don't mess with kids," political consultant Chris Barron tweeted. "Like don't encourage them to engage in genital mutilation or in unnecessary hormone therapy."

"High levels of cringe happening here…," the Twitter account for The Blaze posted.

Both O’Rourke and President Biden have attacked Abbott and the state of Texas over a recent policy directing Texas' Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate as potential child abuse the subjecting of children to controversial transgender procedures such as cross-sex hormones and "puberty blockers."  

O’Rourke’s tweet comes on the same day the Biden administration released a series of documents encouraging gender-reassignment surgery and hormone treatments for minors.

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"To transgender Americans of all ages, I want you to know that you are so brave," Biden said in a video posted on Twitter. "You belong. I have your back."