Melania Trump speech author admits plagiarism
"I did not verify Mrs. Obama's speeches. This was my mistake and I feel bad for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as Mrs. Obama. I did not mean to hurt," Meredith McIver said.
The author of Melania Trump's speech at the Republican Convention on Monday apologized today (07/20/2016) for including excerpts that appear to have been copied from a speech by First Lady Michelle Obama.
Meredith McIver claimed to have submitted her resignation after the media revealed her apparent plagiarism, but Donald Trump rejected it. She further explained that Melania Trump read to her excerpts from a speech by Michelle Obama that she admired, which McIver took note of and were later incorporated into yesterday's speech at the Republican convention.
Accept their mistake
"I did not verify Mrs. Obama's speeches. This was my mistake and I feel bad for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as Mrs. Obama. I did not mean to hurt," McIver said in a letter. released by Trump's campaign committee.
The controversy monopolized media coverage of the convention throughout Tuesday and diverted efforts by the Trump campaign to use Melania's speech as a way to humanize her husband in front of voters.
Media detected plagiarism
The US media discovered that Melania's speech shared entire sentences with the one Michelle Obama delivered at the Democratic National Convention in 2008, when incumbent President Barack Obama was officially nominated as a candidate for her party.
Among others, Melania Trump's speech included the phrase: "Since I was little, my parents impressed on me the values that you have to work hard for what you want in life. That your word binds you and you do what you say and keep your promises. That you treat people with respect. "
