An aspiring comedian pretending to be a former supporter for President Barack Obama appeared on "Fox & Friends" morning show via satellite on Monday during a segment that suggested the staggering unemployment rate for those aged 18-24 may cost Obama the youth vote in November.
"Fox & Friends" co-host Gretchen Carlson introduced Max Rice, the comedian, as a "recent college grad who voted for President Obama" and who "just moved out of his parents' home."
Rice interrupted Carlson's introduction, saying "S'up," and then told her, "Miss USA, it's an honor." After Carlson, a former Miss America winner, corrected Rice, he said, "Miss Universe in my book." Things quickly got worse from there.
"I was a huge Obama supporter in 2008," Rice said. "I met him in third grade. I met him when I was little."
When asked why he is now supporting Mitt Romney, Rice claimed he lost a bet to a friend in a pickup basketball game.
"Are you being serious about this interview or not?" Carlson asked.
"Yeah," Rice said. "I can't see your face right now. This is so weird."
Fox News said it is investigating the incident. "We are still examining the situation, but it will be addressed with the appropriate parties involved," Bill Shine, Fox News' executive vice president of programming, said in a statement.
"They were just casting a part in a show," Rice told the progressive website RawStory.com. "The first thing that shocked me is that they were that desperate to find someone that fit that category. What they were seeking is someone who voted for Obama in 2008, then somewhere in the last four years got disenfranchised and now is a huge Romney supporter. But I feel like anyone who fits that mold would also dis Romney at the same time. So, they just couldn't find anyone. They're in New York City, so they had to go find a kid in Chicago."
Earlier this year, "Fox & Friends" aired a nearly-four-minute video about President Obama's first term, drawing the ire of critics who say it looked, felt and sounded like a political attack ad.
"We decided to take a look back at the president's first term to see if it lived up to hope and change," Carlson said while introducing the piece.
The video, produced by Fox News associate producer Chris White, attacked Obama's record on job creation and the unemployment rate—and included a dramatic, "Star Wars"-esque soundtrack.
[Hat tip: Uproxx.com]