Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy had some snappy opening remarks, that sounded familiar…
The tech entrepreneur has been accused of plagiarism after several people —including fellow GOP contender Chris Christie— noticed that one line in his first response was seemingly lifted from a speech that former President Barack Obama made nearly two decades ago.
Ramaswamy said at the outset of the debate,
So let me just address a question that is on everybody’s mind at home tonight: who the heck is this skinny guy with the funny last name and what the heck is he doing in the middle of this debate stage?”
In a keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in July 2004, Obama said that hope was the centerpiece of his White House bid,
the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.”
Ramaswamy also made, not remarks taken from Obama’s ’04 speech, but they evoking the same themes,
My parents came to this country with no money 40 years ago; I have gone on to found multi-billion-dollar companies. I did it while marrying my wife, Apoorva, raising our two sons, following our faith in God—that is the American dream.
And I am genuinely worried that that American dream will not exist for our two sons.”
In 2004, Obama talked about his father traveling from Kenya to America, and being
aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my two precious daughters.”
Chris Christie later noted the similarity with Obama’s remarks adding a reference to the AI copywriting program,
I’ve had enough of a guy who stands up here who sounds like ChatGPT.”
Jon Pierre, an internet personality, wrote on X referring to the former first lady lifting parts of an earlier speech by Michelle Obama,
Vivek Ramaswamy pulled a Melania [Trump] tonight and plagiarized a famous speech by President Obama.”
But the tone was darker in Ramaswamy’s outlook for the future of the nation, whereas Obama spoke of an America where
we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm.”
Ramaswamy is polling behind DeSantis’ 15% with about 10% of the GOP electorate supporting him so far. Trump was at 52% pre mug shot.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called out candidate Vivek Ramaswamy at the first 2024 GOP presidential primary debate for a comment that sounded eerily familiar to a speech by former President Barack Obama. https://t.co/99n5WjsPUj pic.twitter.com/AJjT74qqnd
— CNN (@CNN) August 24, 2023
(Photos, YouTube; via Newsweek)
