The internet is trying to wrap its head around the recently discovered fact that both Vivek Ramaswamy and Pete Buttigieg appeared at town hall events held by MSNBC all the way back in 2003.
Earlier this week, footage of Ramaswamy, who is currently running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, showed the then-18-year-old questioning civil rights leader and presidential candidate Al Sharpton on his political experience.
Incredibly enough, internet users found footage shortly after of Buttigieg, who ran for president in 2020 as a Democrat, asking a question at another town hall event that same year.
The then-21-year-old Buttigieg had appeared at the town hall, held by MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, to question then-Democratic presidential candidate Dick Gephardt about the youth vote.
In 2019, Matthews even showed the old clip to Buttigieg while he was a presidential candidate taking questions during an MSNBC town hall.
While many online initially assumed both men appeared at the same event, Buttigieg’s appearance was on Nov. 3, 2003, while Ramaswamy attended one week earlier on Oct. 27, 2003.
The fact that both individuals had appeared on the same show during the same time period prior to becoming presidential candidates themselves quickly produced memes and reactions across social media this week.
“I know I call Vivek the Republican Pete Buttigieg but god damn they were at the same 2004 campaign event?? Wild,” reporter Kyle Kulinski wrote.
Some noted that both men were attending Harvard University at the time, a likely explanation for why they were chosen to attend. Others compared the incident to a “Disney Channel original series.”
“I know some people are shocked that Secretary Pete Buttigieg & Vivek Ramaswamy both showed up on @MSNBC’s Hardball when they were young to ask the 04 presidential candidates questions at a town hall, but it makes sense once you realize it happened while they were both at Harvard,” another added.
Many conservatives, however, immediately responded to the revelation with conspiracy theories.
A popular far-right Twitter user argued that the occurrence proved that “something strange” was going on.
“Ok what the hell is going on. Pete Buttigieg and Big Pharma Vivek both getting called to ask questions on MSNBC?! Both running for President in their late 30s?! Both getting money from the Soros family?! Something strange going on here…”
Right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong likewise brought up the incident while stating that he had “so many questions.”
“Vivek Ramaswamy claims he wasn’t politically engaged in the past, yet here he is on MSNBC asking a Democratic presidential candidate questions,” he wrote. “Democrat Pete Buttigieg was also present as a questioner. I have so many questions.”
Since failing to secure the Democratic nomination in 2020, Buttigieg went on to secure a position with the current administration of President Joe Biden as Secretary of Transportation. Ramaswamy, known best for his history in the tech field, is currently trailing former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) in Republican primary polls.
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*First Published: Aug 30, 2023, 1:04 pm CDT
Mikael Thalen
Mikael Thalen is a tech and security reporter covering social media, data breaches, hackers, and more.
