Copy and paste? Hours before giving an allegedly plagiarized speech (which you can watch in the video above) at the 2016 Republican National Convention, Melania Trump boasted about writing the address all on her own.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s third wife, 46, opened up on the Today show on Monday, July 18, about how she was getting ready for the now-controversial oration.
“I read once over it and that’s all because I wrote it with [as] little help as possible,” Melania told Matt Lauer on Monday morning.
As previously reported, the Slovenian native took the stage at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday night to speak to delegates on the first day of the RNC — but she made headlines for the wrong reasons.
Less than an hour after delivering her speech, Twitter users pointed out that an entire paragraph matched nearly word-for-word to First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention address.
“Melania must’ve liked Michelle Obama’s 2008 Convention speech, since she plagiarized it,” journalist Jarrett Hill tweeted on Monday evening before adding, “CORRECTION: Melania stole a whole graph from Michelle’s speech.”
Although the wording wasn’t completely identical, the meaning and sequence of the words were astonishingly similar.
“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,” Melania said. “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.”
In 2008, Obama, now 52, stated, “Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values. like, you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond; that 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. … 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.”
After the address and its similarities went viral, the Trump campaign released a statement on Tuesday, July 19, to defend Melania’s speech.
“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,” the statement reads. “Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success.”
Donald, 70, also hailed his wife via Twitter, writing, “It was truly an honor to introduce my wife, Melania. Her speech and demeanor were absolutely incredible. Very proud! #GOPConvention.”
