Joe Scarborough Compares Pete Buttigieg to George Washington and Frank Sinatra for ‘Strategic Retreat’

Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg won effusive praise from MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough on Monday following his decision to end his presidential campaign. The Morning Joe host and his guest, Reverend Al Sharpton, compared Buttigieg to George Washington and legendary entertainers Frank Sinatra and James Brown.

“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.

“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. 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.”

Sharpton compared Buttigieg to a great entertainer who knows how to end a performance.

“One of the things the Godfather of Soul James Brown taught me is when you get the crowd you kill them and leave,” Sharpton said. “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.”

Scarborough jumped on the comparison.

“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. I always leave them wanting more. Mayor Pete did a Sinatra routine last night,” Scarborough said.