Donald Trump’s campaign has hit back at claims of plagiarism surrounding his wife’s speech to the Republican National Convention yesterday.
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New York Rep. Chris Collins, the first congressman to endorse Trump, thundered that, “Donald Trump is not merely a candidate”.
Of course, we all know that the Trump campaign is totally different than any that has ever come before it.
In a dark wood-paneled room deep in the belly of a downtown Cleveland mall, the first day of the Republican National Convention is not getting off to a great start.
On the convention floor here inside Quicken Loans Arena, the roll-call vote was largely uneventful as the state delegations, in alphabetical sequence, stood one by one to announce their delegate-allocation totals.
Mr Trump himself made no mention of the accusations about plagiarism in a Twitter post early on Tuesday: “It was truly an honour to introduce my wife, Melania Trump last night”. On Tuesday, just blocks from the convention hall, he went further, trumpeting his opposition to Trump’s views on trade, immigration, foreign policy, and national security.
Things are heating up here in Cleveland after an opening day that highlighted the GOP’s grim mood about the country and the some of the Trump campaign’s organizational, uh, shortcomings.
Donald Trump is betting big on his business experience in hopes of getting voters to believe he can “Make America Work Again”.
On Monday, the first day of rallies outside the convention featured angry words and a small number of demonstrators openly carrying guns as allowed under OH law, but none of the violence many feared could erupt in this summer of violence in the USA and overseas.
Tiffany will be the first of Trump’s five children to speak at the convention, followed soon after by half brother Donald Trump Jr. For a candidate who says he’s a political outsider, that sure sounds like “insider” language. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been a lukewarm supporter of Trump, was greeted with a smattering of boos as he took the stage. Those pro-Trump delegates loudly booed when some delegations, such as Colorado and the District of Columbia, cast votes for Texas Sen. But that effort – like the “Never Trump” movement’s other last-ditch efforts this week – failed.
As in Melania Trump’s speech the night before, similarities were noted between phrases in the junior Trump’s keynote Tuesday night and an article published in a conservative publication.
“We are not interested in embracing Donald Trump”, he said.
Melania Trump, middle, was accused of copying Michelle Obama, right, but was she, in fact, paraphrasing Twilight Sparkle?
“Weakness, decline, and ultimately, chaos and oblivion”. But Hillary Clinton’s campaign has already declared Pence the “most extreme” vice presidential candidate “in a generation”. “But, ladies and gentlemen, that is about to change”.
The nominee was put over the top by his home state of NY. Four of his children joined the state’s delegation on the convention floor for the historic moment and appeared overwhelmed with emotion.
Her speech contained a striking resemblance to Michelle Obama’s when she said her 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”.
Of all the possible defenses of Melania Trump, this may be the most creative.
The Times notes “Melania’s entire family sensed potential in her modeling”.
When the sun rose Tuesday morning, however, Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, called the allegations of plagiarism “absurd”. Campaign officials invested significant time arguing with delegates about the importance of presenting a united front during the televised convention.
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Even as he explained the effort, Waters was shouted down by a Trump-supporting delegate who said the will of the people had been heard.
