Utah Senator Mike Lee is being roasted for writing an opinion piece in the Salt Lake Tribune in which he praises himself in the third person.
“Since taking office, Senator Mike Lee has earned a reputation as a principled conservative. He believes elected officials are responsible for keeping the federal government within its constitutionally limited role,’ writes Sen Mike Lee,” a plug for the article on social media states.
The awkward phrasing brought cackles of derision on social media.
“I just want to know what Mike Lee thinks of Mike Lee,’ said no one, ever,” wrote Lincoln Project founder Rick Wilson.
Author and podcast host Molly Jong-Fast wrote: “Usually when writing about myself I use the first person like a normal human person who doesn’t have more than one personality.”
Satirist Jeremy Newberger wrote: “‘Best sex I ever had was with Senator Mike Lee,’ - Senator Mike Lee.”
Author James Surowiecki pointed out that The Salt Lake Tribune asked both candidates to write pieces explaining why voters should support them.
“McMullin, like a normal person, sent in a piece written in the first person. Lee sent in his bio, meaning he refers to himself throughout the piece as ‘Mike Lee.’”
The article initially showed Mr Lee as the author of the piece, but the byline was later removed.
In a statement, a campaign advisor told Insider the article was “not an OP-ED”.
“The Salt Lake Tribune solicited an essay from the campaign for inclusion in their voter guide. The campaign supplied them with a version of Senator Lee’s standard bio,” his adviser Matt Lusty told Insider.
“It’s regrettable it was presented as being from Senator Lee, but they have told me they’re updating it to be from the campaign.”
Mr Lee is in a competitive race for the Utah senate seat with independent candidate Evan McMullin, with recent polls by the Deseret News showing the two-term senator leading by just four points.
Nearly one-fifth of voters remain undecided in the race.
Both candidates will square off in a televised debate on Monday evening.
Mr Lee last week pleaded for support on Fox News from fellow state senator Republican Mitt Romney, who has so far remained neutral in the race.
In April, it was revealed that Mr Lee supported former president Donald Trump’s push to overturn the 2020 presidential election and install himself in the White House for a second term.
Mr Lee remains a “clear favourite” in the race, according to forecasters FiveThirtyeight.
However the Cook Political Report recently changed its rating from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican”.
