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.
