In what can be described as one of the most epic cases of plagiarism. Melania Trump, the wife of presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump gave a speech at the Republican National Convention in the early hours of Tuesday which bore a striking resemblance to the speech delivered nearly eight years ago by another first lady hopeful, Michelle Obama.
Twitter user, @JarrettHill was quick to point this out.
CORRECTION: Melania stole a whole graph from Michelle’s speech. #GOPConvention
WATCH: https://t.co/8BCOwXAHSy pic.twitter.com/zudpDznGng— Jarrett Hill (@JarrettHill) July 19, 2016
Melania must’ve liked Michelle Obama’s 2008 Convention speech, since she plagiarized it.#GOPConvention #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/vGmsG9KFx3
— Jarrett Hill (@JarrettHill) July 19, 2016
Melania Trump’s speech this morning
My parents impressed on me the value of 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. Show the values and morals in in the daily life. That is the lesson that we continue to pass on to our son.
We need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. [Cheering] Because we want our children in these nations to know that the only limit to your achievement is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.
And this is from Michelle Obama’s speech in 2008:
And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and 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, and even if you don’t agree with them.
And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because 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 for them.
There’s no explanation (yet) for how this happened. CNN reported that Melania Trump had been working with a speechwriter “for the last five to six weeks, honing her speech.”