Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has been accused of plagiarising Barack Obama in several campaign speeches.
In a compilation featuring side-by-side comparisons of the two men’s speeches, Mr Buttigieg is shown using almost the exact same words as Mr Obama on multiple occasions.
The embarrassing , assembled by Brennan Murphy at agency The Recount, comes as Mr Buttigieg faces mockery for a tweet in which he seemed to borrow from one of the speeches in question.
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Describing how the audience at a campaign event used their phone screens when the room hit by a power cut, Mr Buttigieg tweeted: “If we can light up a high school gym – we can light a neighborhood.
“If we can light up a neighborhood – we can light a city.
“If we can light up a city – we can light up our country.”
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1/18
Jessica Canicosa, a precinct captain for Bernie Sanders, waits to greet caucus voters at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada
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Hotel workers at the Bellagio in Las Vegas get to grips with voting papers during the Nevada caucuses
AFP via
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A caricature of Bernie Sanders is projected on to a tree during a rally in Las Vegas
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A woman waits to have a photo taken with Elizabeth Warren during a town hall meeting in Las Vegas
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Amy Klobuchar changes her shoes backstage after giving a speech in Exeter, New Hampshire
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A warmly-wrapped-up dog attends an Elizabeth Warren event at Amherst Elementary School in Nashua, New Hampshire
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Bernie Sanders, who romped to victory in New Hampshire against Hillary Clinton in 2016, talks to the media in Manchester
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Joe Biden was hoping to improve on his poor showing in Iowa in the New Hampshire primary
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Elizabeth Warren, renowned for giving time to supporters for selfies, works the crowd at the University of New Hampshire in Durham
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Joe Biden takes a selfie with a supporter and his child outside a campaign event in Somersworth, New Hampshire on 5 February
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Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders quarrel after a confrontation in a TV debate in which Sanders claimed that Warren was not telling the truth about a conversation in which she claimed he had said a woman could not win the presidency on 14 January
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Supporter Pat Provencher listens to Pete Buttigieg in Laconia, New Hampshire on 4 February
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Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire while awaiting the results of the Iowa caucus
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Elizabeth Warren is presented with a balloon effigy of herself at a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire on 5 February
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A supporter rides past a rally for Amy Klobuchar in Des Moines, Iowa on 14 January
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A man holds up a sign criticising billionaires in the presidential race in front of Michael Bloomberg in Compton, Califronia. The former New York mayor skipped the first caucus in Iowa and instead campaigned in California on 3 February
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Jessica Canicosa, a precinct captain for Bernie Sanders, waits to greet caucus voters at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada
REUTERS
2/18
Hotel workers at the Bellagio in Las Vegas get to grips with voting papers during the Nevada caucuses
AFP via
3/18
A caricature of Bernie Sanders is projected on to a tree during a rally in Las Vegas
EPA
4/18
A woman waits to have a photo taken with Elizabeth Warren during a town hall meeting in Las Vegas
REUTERS
5/18
The threat of coronavirus and other germ-borne illnesses was on some voters’ minds at the Democratic caucuses in Henderson, Nevada
6/18
Former vice-president Joe Biden takes a selfie with a voter in Las Vegas ahead of the Nevada caucuses
REUTERS
7/18
Amy Klobuchar changes her shoes backstage after giving a speech in Exeter, New Hampshire
AFP/Getty
8/18
A warmly-wrapped-up dog attends an Elizabeth Warren event at Amherst Elementary School in Nashua, New Hampshire
AFP/Getty
9/18
Bernie Sanders, who romped to victory in New Hampshire against Hillary Clinton in 2016, talks to the media in Manchester
Getty
10/18
Joe Biden was hoping to improve on his poor showing in Iowa in the New Hampshire primary
Reuters
11/18
Elizabeth Warren, renowned for giving time to supporters for selfies, works the crowd at the University of New Hampshire in Durham
Getty
12/18
Joe Biden takes a selfie with a supporter and his child outside a campaign event in Somersworth, New Hampshire on 5 February
Reuters
13/18
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders quarrel after a confrontation in a TV debate in which Sanders claimed that Warren was not telling the truth about a conversation in which she claimed he had said a woman could not win the presidency on 14 January
AP
14/18
Supporter Pat Provencher listens to Pete Buttigieg in Laconia, New Hampshire on 4 February
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Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire while awaiting the results of the Iowa caucus
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Elizabeth Warren is presented with a balloon effigy of herself at a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire on 5 February
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A supporter rides past a rally for Amy Klobuchar in Des Moines, Iowa on 14 January
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A man holds up a sign criticising billionaires in the presidential race in front of Michael Bloomberg in Compton, Califronia. The former New York mayor skipped the first caucus in Iowa and instead campaigned in California on 3 February
Reuters
Right-wing Twitter users were quick to point out the similarity with a tweet Mr Obama sent out on the eve of the 2012 election.
“One voice can change a room,” read Mr Obama’s tweet. “And if it can change a room, it can change a city. And if it can change a city, it can change a state.”
View host Meghan McCain, daughter of Mr Obama’s onetime rival John McCain, tweeted “Oh COME ON! I know Pete thinks he’s the next Obama but this is ridiculous.”
The Daily Caller’s Logan Hall added to the ridicule: “tfw you copy your friend’s homework and make a few slight changes so it won’t look too obvious.” Another conservative site, the Daily Wire, accused Mr Buttigieg of “cribbing”.
However, some on the left also took note of the tweet: Obama campaign veteran and speechwriter Jon Lovett responded with a simple “oh man”.
And the comparison of Mr Buttigieg and Mr Obama was tweeted out by Sawyer Hackett, who served as communications director for Julian Castro – another Democratic candidate who’s now dropped out.
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Mr Buttigieg has also been derided for tweeting a picture of himself walking down a hallway which many users said looked staged and uncomfortable.
The former South Bend mayor is currently hoping to perform well in upcoming primaries to restart the momentum he gained from strong performances in Iowa and New Hampshire.
While he retains a strong following and has received plenty of positive media coverage, Mr Buttigieg is performing weakly in national polls, and came third in the Nevada caucuses.
