Melania Trump is being accused of plagiarizing material from the Obama administration, but the First Lady is firing back … saying it’s not what it seems. Melania launched her “Be Best” initiative — promoting online safety for kids — Monday…
Showing posts with label Plagiarism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plagiarism. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Melania Trump Speechwriter Admits to Plagiarism: My Bad, Folks!
The Donald Trump campaign can now stop pretending that Melania Trump did not steal portions of her Republican National Convention speech from Michelle Obama.
Because the speechwriter for Melania Trump just admitted this is precisely what happened.
On Monday night, Melania Trump helped open the RNC from Cleveland by talking about her morals and values and how she raises her children.
No one took issue with the content of Trump’s speech…
… but many people immediately noticed that it echoed the words spoken by Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention in 2008.
Like, really, really echoed those words.
Like, she used the same exact words for two full paragraphs.
In response to the charges of plagiarism, surrogates for the Donald Trump campaign released numerous statements; some acknowledging that Melania stole portions of her speech and others scoffing at this notion.
But now Meredith McIver – described as “an in-house staff writer from the Trump Organization” – has come out and taken responsibility for the incident.
In a statement released by the campaign on Wednesday, McIver, says that Donald Trump’s wife, in a phone call, read her “passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples” of inspiration for her own address at the RNC.
“I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech,” McIver admits, referring to the first lady as “a person [Melania] has always liked.”
McIver added:
“I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches. This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama.”
This is really all that needed to be said as soon as the speech concluded.
No one really cares what Melania Trump has to say.
But the plagiarism, along with the ridiculous excuses uttered by Trump representatives, have been seen as examples of a campaign that is not very well run or organized.
McIver added that she offered her resignation to the nominee’s family but they “rejected it,” referred to the incident an “innocent mistake.”
Here is McIver’s full statement:
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
My name is Meredith Mciver and I’m an in-house staff writer at the Trump Organization. I am also a longtime friend and admirer of the Trump family.
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.
A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech.
I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches.
This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant.
Yesterday, I offered my resignation to Mr. Trump and the Trump family, but they rejected it. Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences.
I asked to put out this statement because I did not like seeing the way this was distracting from Mr. Trump’s historic campaign for president and Melania’s beautiful message and presentation.
I apologize for the confusion and hysteria my mistake has caused. Today, more than ever, I am honored to work for such a great family. I personally admire the way Mr. Trump has handled this situation and I am grateful for his understanding.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Melania Trump Plagiarism: The Campaign (Hilariously) Responds!
Melania Trump took to the stage on Monday night at the Republican National Convention.
On the biggest platform of her life, Donald Trump’s third wife talked about values and morals and family and… wait a second…
… she talked about many of the same things Michelle Obama talked about at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
In fact, she talked about these things using the same words and, at times, the same cadence.
As a result, critics have jumped all over the Trump campaign, accusing Melania of plagiarism (which, in most campaigns, would be among the most scandalous charges on could level).
Did Trump borrow certain sections of Michelle’s speech?
Here is a look at the speech itself:
Here is a juxtaposition of portions of this speech and the one Obama gave eight years ago:
So that’s pretty blatant, right? pic.twitter.com/EPnHME7afV
— Mike Hearn (@mikehearn) July 19, 2016
And here is a visual aid to help guide along your decision-making process:
While the world shakes its collective head over the latest campaign misstep, surrogates for Trump and his wife went public with a handful of hilarious excuses and denials.
To wit:
Campaign Manager Paul Manafort: “There’s no cribbing of Michelle Obama’s speech. These were common words and values. She cares about her family. To think that she’d be cribbing Michelle Obama’s words is crazy.”
Former Trump aide Corey Lewandowski: “Remember, Melania Trump speaks four languages, unbelievably intelligent. This is not her native language. She relied on other people to make sure the speech was right, and it went through the process which all convention speeches do.”
Trump Spokeswoman Katrina Pierson: “These are values – Republican values, by the way – of hard work, determination, family values, dedication and respect, and that’s Melania Trump. This concept that Michelle Obama invented the English language is absurd.”
Chris Christie: “Ninety-three percent of the speech is completely different from Michelle Obama’s speech. They expressed some common thoughts.”
Congressman Joe Wilson: “My view is, to quote other first ladies, or potential first ladies, that is positive. Even unattributed. Hey, it was meant as a compliment.”
Manafort again: “Once again, this is an example of when a woman threatens Hillary Clinton, she seeks to demean her and take her down.”
Former Mississippi Goveror Haley Barbour: “What was interesting to me is, did the campaign intend for this? Because everything that Melania Trump said that Barack Obama’s wife had said are things that she said Barack Obama would do and he didn’t do.”
It’s safe to say we never considered this last option.
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