Scarborough evokes George Washington, Sinatra in lauding Buttigieg decision to drop out

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough compared former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg to George Washington and Frank Sinatra during a Monday morning discussion about the presidential candidate’s decision to end his campaign on Sunday.

“I’ve spent the past 25 years politely telling presidential candidates who needed to drop out of the race to protect their future viability to drop out and rarely did they listen,” Scarborough said to fellow MSNBC host Al Sharpton on “Morning Joe.”

“I would not presume to talk to Mayor Pete about that, but he made a wise decision,” he said.

“He ran a great campaign. Made a wise decision, and you know, George Washington won the war because he first became a master of strategic retreats during the Revolutionary War,” the host continued.

“It’s the same with politics. This was a strategic retreat for Mayor Pete, who ran a great campaign, but still has to figure out when he runs again how to get support from the black community.”

Buttigieg won the Iowa caucuses and finished strong in the New Hampshire primary but could not win over black and Hispanic voters and lost momentum as the race moved to more diverse states. 

Nonetheless, many Democrats believe the 38-year-old has a bright future after becoming the first openly gay major presidential candidate.

Sharpton compared Buttigieg to the rhythm and blues star James Brown, while Scarborough evoked Sinatra.

“One of the things the godfather of soul James Brown taught me is when you get the crowd, you kill them and leave,” Sharpton recalled. “You can sing past your peak if you don’t know when to walk off the stage, you can make a great show a very bad disaster.”

“Sinatra, when they asked Sinatra what made him different than other singers, why he was the greatest, he said, ‘Because I do the 48 best minutes and then I get off the stage,'” Scarborough said. “‘I always leave them wanting more.’ Mayor Pete did a Sinatra routine last night.”

Great politicians know when to charge ahead and when to stand down. Mayor Pete ran an incredible campaign that exceeded all expectations. His ability to make the difficult decision tonight tells me he will be a major player in American politics for a long time to come. pic.twitter.com/fp2Ti5dHiM

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) March 1, 2020