Sen. Mike Lee Mocked For Bland Newspaper Op-Ed Written In Third Person

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is being mocked for an op-ed touting himself in the Salt Lake Tribune that reads like a generic website biography — which it is.

Lee’s independent challenger Evan McMullin wrote a passionate pitch to voters for the paper, as it seemed the assignment was supposed to be.

But Lee’s third-person appeal referred to himself by name and had the tone of “a middle schooler’s book report,” Mediaite wrote. Much of it appears to have been lifted from Lee’s Senate website.

The newspaper initially posted Lee’s byline atop the op-ed, a screen grab showed.

But perhaps seeing the absurdity of Mike Lee writing about “Mike Lee,” the newspaper later dropped the author’s name.

“Mike Lee serves as a United States senator representing the state of Utah. Since taking office, Senator Lee has earned a reputation as a principled conservative,” the essay began. “He believes elected officials are responsible for keeping the federal government within its constitutionally limited role.

His respect for the Constitution was instilled early in life by watching his father, Rex E. Lee, argue before the Supreme Court as President Reagan’s Solicitor General. Attending those arguments gave him an up-close understanding of the federal government’s proper role.”

Here’s the op-ed without Lee’s byline, looking like the newspaper wrote it.

It finishes with this critical information: “Lee and his wife Sharon have three children (James, John, and Eliza) and live in Provo.”

Neither Lee nor the Salt Lake Tribune responded to requests for comment.

People on Twitter couldn’t help but riff. “Mike Lee has quite a high opinion of himself, if he does say so himself,” one user wrote.