Argentina’s right-wing populist president, Javier Milei, has been accused of plagiarizing a portion of his recent speech to the United Nations from the political drama The West Wing.
According to left-leaning Buenos Aires newspaper Página 12, Milei “copied, word for word” a monologue delivered by the show’s fictional president, Josiah “Jed” Bartlet. The allegations surfaced when political columnist Carlos Pagni pointed out the striking similarities between Milei’s address and lines spoken by Martin Sheen’s character over 21 years ago.
In his speech on September 24, Milei stated, “We believe in defending everyone’s lives. We believe in defending everyone’s property. We believe in freedom of speech for everybody. We believe in freedom to worship for everybody. We believe in freedom of trade for everybody… What happens in one country quickly impacts others, and we believe all people should live free from tyranny and oppression, whether it’s political or economic slavery or religious fanaticism. This fundamental idea must be supported by actions: diplomatically, economically, and materially.”
In contrast, in Season 4, Episode 15 of the series, Bartlet declares, “We’re for freedom of speech everywhere. We’re for freedom to worship everywhere. We’re for freedom to learn for everybody. And because in our time, you can build a bomb in your country and bring it to my country, what goes on in your country is very much my business. Therefore, we support freedom from tyranny everywhere, whether in the guise of political oppression, economic slavery, or religious fanaticism. That fundamental idea cannot just be met with support; it must be backed by our strength: diplomatically, economically, materially.”
The resemblance between the two speeches raised eyebrows in Argentina, with some attributing it to the influence of Milei’s chief strategist, Santiago Caputo. Reports suggest that Caputo is an ardent fan of The West Wing, having watched the entire series between seven and nine times.
The irony was not lost on observers, given that Milei is a volatile right-wing figure with associations to other prominent politicians, including Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, while Bartlet is characterized by his calm demeanor and progressive policies.
Plagiarism from The West Wing isn’t an isolated incident in politics. Former British Prime Minister Theresa May faced similar accusations during the Conservative Party’s 2017 conference, although her office denied any wrongdoing.
In Australia, Labor politician Will Fowles has also been noted for echoing Bartlet’s lines, admitting to being a significant fan of the series and giving “an unconscious homage” to its creator, Aaron Sorkin.
Milei isn’t the only politician to look to fictional presidents for inspiration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Argentine politician Alejandro Torres quoted Thomas J. Whitmore, the alien-fighting president from Independence Day. In 2017, Mexican politician Miguel Ángel Covarrubias was criticized for borrowing lines from Frank Underwood, a character portrayed by Kevin Spacey in House of Cards.
Even Australian politician Anthony Albanese found himself in hot water for quoting Andrew Shepherd, the character played by Michael Douglas in The American President, leading to an embarrassed “D’oh!” tweet after the incident was highlighted.
Credit: The Guardian
