“If any of these jokes sound old, it’s because Michelle Obama used them in 2008”, quipped “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon as he took aim at the speech Trump’s wife, Melania, delivered Monday at the conventionm, parts of which were plagiarized from a 2008 speech by Michelle Obama.
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Before we get into the Trump campaign’s new explanation for Melania Trump’s convention speech plagiarizing Michelle Obama, let’s quickly review the remarkable series of defenses that preceded today’s unexpected announcement.
My name is Meredith McIver and I’m an in-house staff writer at the Trump Organization. And yes, some passages were lifted from Michelle Obama’s 2008 campaign speech, word-for-word.
Trump aide Meredith McIver acknowledged Wednesday that she had included some of Michelle Obama’s convention speech in her research notes and then included those notes in the speech.
“In working with Melania Trump on her recent First Lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people”, she wrote. “I meant no harm”.
But the following morning, the Trump campaign denied it was plagiarism.
McIver said she offered the Trump family her resignation, but they rejected it.
About an hour before Trump’s campaign released McIver’s statement, Trump himself took to Twitter to downplay the controversy.
To introduce herself to the world at large – and tell them why she loves being able to introduce her dad to her friends, especially those who might be somewhat skeptical of him based on what they might have seen in the press – Tiffany wore a sleeveless dress (in Democrat blue!) with a self-tying belt that was a flawless example for college grads everywhere on how to look age-appropriate and professional should you be headed to a job interview or, say, the nominating convention for your father.
The passages in question came near the beginning of Mrs. Trump’s almost 15-minute speech.
The New York Times noted that McIver appears to be the first person involved with the Trump campaign to publicly apologize for making a mistake. One referred to what Mrs. Trump called values impressed upon her by her parents.
“I am honored to work for such a great family”, she added.
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Mrs. Trump’s address was otherwise distinct from the speech that Mrs. Obama gave when her husband was being nominated for president.
