The
wife of the GOP Presidential candidate used two passages that match
nearly word-for-word the speech that first lady delivered in 2008 at the
Democratic National Convention
Melania Trump has been accused of stealing remarks made by Michelle Obama for her own speech at the Republican National Convention
The wife of the GOP Presidential candidate used two passages that match nearly word-for-word the speech that first lady delivered in 2008 at the Democratic National Convention
Melania has insisted that she wrote the speech with only a 'little help', but only read it through once
In the first lady's 2008 speech, she said, 'Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values and to pass them onto the next generation, because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them.'
Jon Favreau, President Obama's former speechwriter, tweeted after the event that Mrs Obama's speech in 2008 was written by Sarah Hurwitz - a former Hillary Clinton speechwriter.
'So the Trump campaign plagiarized from a Hillary speechwriter,' Favreau added.
In response to the nearly-identical passages, the Trump camp at first ignored questions about the similarities before outright denying them.
Jason Miller, the senior communications adviser, said: 'In writing her beautiful speech, Melania's team of writers took notes on her life's inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking.
'Melania's immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success.'
Later, Manafort said Mrs. Trump's speech was 'of course not' plagiarized and that the similar passages are composed of 'common words and values.'
But he provided no insight into how the words were lifted in the first place.
'You know, there was certainly a collaboration,' he said. 'Certainly there's no feeling on her part that she did it, you know. What she did was use words that are common words and just expect her to – to think that she would do something like that, knowing how scrutinized her speech was going to be last night, is just really absurd.'
NBC political commentator Nicole Wallace hinted Tuesday morning at possible backstabbing on the part of the speechwriter.
'There is no doubt in my mind that whoever put those words on a piece of paper was very aware of what Michelle Obama said,' Wallace said on the Today show.
The first lady made the remarks while her husband was being confirmed as the Democratic nominee
Despite the allegations, The Donald congratulated his wife after the speech
Lara Trump, wife of Donald's son Eric, posted a positive message for her stepmother-in-law hours after the scandal hit Tuesday morning
Melania's remarks had been well-received, until the similarities between the speeches were revealed
In the first lady's 2008 speech, she said, 'Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values and to pass them onto the next generation, because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them.'
Jon Favreau, President Obama's former speechwriter, tweeted after the event that Mrs Obama's speech in 2008 was written by Sarah Hurwitz - a former Hillary Clinton speechwriter.
'So the Trump campaign plagiarized from a Hillary speechwriter,' Favreau added.
In response to the nearly-identical passages, the Trump camp at first ignored questions about the similarities before outright denying them.
Jason Miller, the senior communications adviser, said: 'In writing her beautiful speech, Melania's team of writers took notes on her life's inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking.
'Melania's immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success.'
Later, Manafort said Mrs. Trump's speech was 'of course not' plagiarized and that the similar passages are composed of 'common words and values.'
But he provided no insight into how the words were lifted in the first place.
'You know, there was certainly a collaboration,' he said. 'Certainly there's no feeling on her part that she did it, you know. What she did was use words that are common words and just expect her to – to think that she would do something like that, knowing how scrutinized her speech was going to be last night, is just really absurd.'
NBC political commentator Nicole Wallace hinted Tuesday morning at possible backstabbing on the part of the speechwriter.
'There is no doubt in my mind that whoever put those words on a piece of paper was very aware of what Michelle Obama said,' Wallace said on the Today show.
There are people defending Melania for this bullshit. Her using Michelle's speech shows how clueless and tacky she is
|
MELANIA
TRUMP'S SPEECH (2016)
|
|
MICHELLE
OBAMA'S SPEECH (2008)
|
|
'My
parents impressed on me the value of that you work hard for what you want in
life.
|
|
'And Barack
and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for
what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say
you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if
you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.
|
|
'That your
word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise.
|
|
'And Barack
and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the
next generation.
|
|
'That you
treat people with respect. Show the values and morals in in the
daily life.
|
|
'Because we
want our children – and all children in this nation – to know that the only
limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your
willingness to work for them.'
|
|
'That is the
lesson that we continue to pass on to our son.
|
|
|
|
'We need to
pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. [Cheering] Because
we want our children in these nations to know that the only limit to your
achievement is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work
for them.'
|
|
|
It's funny how people are letting this slide, but if I were to do this at my college I would get expelled.
