Parts of Melania Trump’s primetime speech before the Republican National Convention on Monday appear to be plagiarized from Michelle Obama’s speech from the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Journalist Jarrett Hill first flagged the similarities on Twitter.
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
Obama and Trump both spoke about their values, especially hard work. Bolded words indicate they were used in both speeches.
Obama said:
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.
While Trump said:
From a young age, my 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. They taught and showed me values and morals in their daily life. That is a lesson that I continue to pass along to our son, and we need to pass those lessons on to many generations to follow because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievementsis the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.
The news comes on a day that was already marked by disappointing news for the campaign and the convention as delegates had a floor fight over the rules. Trump’s speech was highly promoted as she was going to help present a softer side of Donald Trump, show him as a family man. Hill’s tweet began to pick up steam and by midnight was being covered on CNN and MSNBC, in addition to numerous tweets. Melania Trump also began trending on Twitter, in addition to the hashtag #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes.