Campaign

Surprise: Andrew Yang’s favorite president is a Republican

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang revealed in an interview with The Hill on Friday that his favorite president is a Republican.

“I’m a big Teddy Roosevelt fan because he seemed very bipartisan and solutions-oriented,” Yang said.

“Breaking news, Andrew Yang is a Roosevelt [fan],” he quipped.

{mosads}But Yang has a more personal connection to the 26th president, through one of Roosevelt’s descendants.

“I’m actually his great-granddaughter’s godfather, so I feel, like, an affinity in that way,” Yang said.

Yang isn’t the first Democrat to publicly express admiration for Roosevelt.

Former President Obama invoked Roosevelt in 2011 when he delivered a speech on economic fairness in Osawatomie, Kan., a town Roosevelt during his presidency.

“Just as there was in Teddy Roosevelt’s time, there’s been a certain crowd in Washington for the last few decades who respond to this economic challenge with the same old tune,” Obama said at the time. “Their philosophy is simple: We are better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. I am here to say: They are wrong.”