Melania Trump, at convention, plagiarises Michelle Obama’s speech

A number of lines in the robustly applauded speech delivered by Melania Trump at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Monday night appeared to have been lifted verbatim from a speech Mrs. Michelle Obama delivered at the 2008 Democratic convention.

“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,” Mrs. Obama told the gathering of Democrats in 2008.

“And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to 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 for them.”

Trump told delegates on Monday: “From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise.

“That you treat people with respect. They taught and showed me values and morals in their daily life. That is a lesson that I continue to pass along to our son, and we need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow, because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.”

Jarrett Hill, a journalist, was among the first to point out that lines Donald Trump’s wife spoke about the necessity of hard work and strong family values seemed familiar.

The Trump campaign has denied accusations of plagiarism.

Yesterday morning, Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, said it was “just absurd” to claim that Melania Trump had plagiarised the first lady.

“There’s no cribbing of Michelle Obama’s speech,” Manafort told CNN, adding that “there’s no feeling on her part that she did it.” Manafort suggested that she was simply using “words that are common words”.

In an initial statement issued at earlier, Jason Miller, the campaign’s senior communications adviser and Trump’s speechwriter, had said Melania Trump’s speech included “fragments” of others’ speeches that “reflected her own thinking”, though did not directly answer accusations of plagiarism.

Miller added that the speech was produced by Melania Trump’s “team”. This runs counter to her own statements in an interview with NBC prior to the speech, in which she claimed to have written the speech herself.

A campaign source suggested told journalists that the blame lay with Rick Gates, a longtime aide to top Trump strategist, Paul Manafort. The source said Gates signed off on the speech and edited it.