 "Argentine President Javier Milei. File Image: AP")
Argentinian President Javier Milei has landed in soup after he was accused of plagiarising a major portion of his UN General Assembly speech from a US TV show.
Milei, a right-win populist leader, reportedly lifted lines for his speech from the US-based political drama West Wing.
How did the suspicion arise?
A political columnist Carlos Pagni was the first one to notice the “extraordinary” similarities between Milei’s speech and a monologue from the show.
“Didn’t anyone else notice?” Pagni wrote in the La Nación newspaper.
Later, the left-leaning Buenos Aires newspaper Página 12 claimed that the Argentinian leader “copied, word for word, a monologue” narrated by the show’s fictional president Josiah “Jed” Bartlet played by actor Martin Sheen.
How are the two similar?
Pagni transcribed both Milei’s speech and the monologue from West Wing to prove his point.
Milei, in his address on September 24, said, “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 … And because in these times what happens in one country quickly has an impact in others, we believe all people should live free from tyranny and oppression, whether in the form of political oppression, economic slavery or religious fanaticism. This fundamental idea must not be mere words – it has to be supported by deeds: diplomatically, economically and materially.”
Meanwhile, Sheen’s monologue in season four episode 15 goes like this: “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. And so we are for freedom from tyranny, everywhere, whether in the guise of political oppression … or economic slavery … or religious fanaticism … That most fundamental idea cannot be met with merely our support. It has to be met with our strength: diplomatically, economically, materially.”
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More ShortsThe irony of it all
The similarities between the two speeches caught the attention of Argentinians, with one newspaper attributing it to the West Wing fixation of Milei’s top strategist, Santiago Caputo.
Many noted the irony of Milei – an unpredictable right-wing figure connected to Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Jair Bolsonaro, and Viktor Orbán – borrowing from a fictional Democratic president celebrated for his calm leadership and progressive policies.