Tony Katz: Buttigieg is a 'made-for-TV' candidate trying to copy Obama
Radio host Tony Katz said on “Fox & Friends” on Thursday that former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a “made-for-TV candidate" trying to copy former President Barack Obama.
Radio host Tony Katz said on “Fox & Friends” on Thursday that former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a “made-for-TV candidate" trying to copy former President Barack Obama.
Buttigieg is facing more accusations of plagiarism after a montage emerged comparing his campaign rhetoric to Obama’s.
Political outlet The Recount shared a video on Monday showing several short clips of Buttigieg and Obama with similarly worded sayings during various stump speeches.
One example is when Obama told supporters in Virginia in 2008, “If a voice can change a room, it can change a city. And if it can change a city it can change a state. And if it can change a state, it can change a nation.”
Comparably, Buttigieg told supporters in Las Vegas on Saturday, “If we can light up a neighborhood then we can light up a city. If we can light up a city, we can light up this whole country.”
When asked about that specific comment, the Buttigieg campaign told Fox News it was a "throwback" to a rally held in Sparks, Nev., where the lights went out, prompting attendees to pull out their cellphones to use them as lights.
BUTTIGIEG FACES MORE ACCUSATIONS OF PLAGIARIZING OBAMA IN CAMPAIGN SPEECHES
"Just a thought" and "this country was built" were the more generic phrases that were lined up between the two Democrats in the video, but things also got very similar when "church basements" are invoked.
The two seemed even more aligned when they both spoke of the country "shining as a beacon" to the world.
“It is so good,” Katz said on Thursday reacting to the "spectacular" video highlighting the similarities.
Katz said Buttigieg once referred to people calling him "unflappable," arguing that it's been "obvious" that the former mayor "wants to be known as this Obama-cool character."
“He’s lied about all the black support in South Carolina, from business owners or from civic leaders, which he doesn't have,” Katz said. “He lies about what’s happened in South Bend when the residents of South Bend tell you ‘this isn't a good place.’”
He added, “This is a made-for-TV candidate, he just ain't made for the Oval Office.”
When host Ainsley Earhardt said it seems like Buttigieg “watched videos of Barack Obama’s speeches and then took notes,” Katz responded by saying, “Some quarterbacks study the tape, and so did Pete Buttigieg and he did everything but figure out how to sing 'Amazing Grace.'”
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Following his strong showings in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, Buttigieg came at a distant third in Saturday's Nevada caucuses, where he earned just 14.3 percent of support following Sen. Bernie Sanders' 46.8 percent and former Vice President Joe Biden's 20.2 percent.
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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