A staff writer for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has come forward after Melania Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention Monday came under fire for alleged plagiarism.
Meredith McIver, an in-house staff writer who worked with Melania Trump on her speech, filed an apology letter in a statement released by the campaign on July 20. In the letter, McIver said that she had asked Trump to name people who inspired her—one of whom was Michelle Obama, whose 2008 Democratic Convention speech Trump was accused of plagiarizing.
Statement on Melania Trump speech pic.twitter.com/0iWIaFFjZW
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) July 20, 2016
“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,” she wrote.
The letter adds that Trump recited phrases from Obama’s former speeches through the phone, which were jotted down and incorporated in the new rendition. She apologized profusely for having not checked the current first lady’s speeches.
“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,” McIver wrote.
She adds that she offered her resignation to the Trump family, which was rejected by the Republican presidential candidate, who assured her that mistakes are normal and help people grow.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has decided to take a positive outlook on his wife’s speech, saying “all press is good press.”
Good news is Melania’s speech got more publicity than any in the history of politics especially if you believe that all press is good press!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2016
A side-by-side comparison of Obama’s First Lady speech in 2008 and Melania Trump’s speech in 2016 was noted on Twitter.
Compare Melania Trump’s speech with Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech: https://t.co/BvQkubKozY pic.twitter.com/ziX0yByv9W
— CNN (@CNN) July 19, 2016
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