Did Melania Trump Plagiarized Michelle Again
Story highlights
- Melania Trump was the main speaker at the Republican National Convention Monday
- Parts of Melania Trump'southward speech bear similarities to a similar speech given by Michelle Obama in 2008
(CNN)Donald Trump'south presidential entrada doesn't plan to fire everyone or to accept disciplinary activity over the controversy surrounding Melania Trump's plagiarism of Michelle Obama, CNN learned Tuesday.
Trump'south entrada hopes to merely move on without further addressing questions about the speech.
Aides to the presumptive Republican nominee are scrambling to move by the imbroglio after a passage in Melania Trump's speech Monday night, which headlined the Republican National Convention'due south opening night, closely mirrored a portion of Michelle Obama'due south address to the Democratic National Convention in 2008.
It's gear up off infighting and finger-pointing within Trump's campaign, and two sources told CNN that Donald Trump himself is furious almost it.
Trump'southward aides chalked the controversy up to media bias and blamed Hillary Clinton's entrada -- even though the credible plagiarism was discovered by an contained journalist and had gone viral before Clinton's allies and Democrats even weighed in.
In an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day," campaign chairman Paul Manafort denied the allegations of plagiarism.
"To retrieve that she would do something like that knowing how scrutinized her voice communication was going to exist last nighttime is only really absurd," Manafort said.
Manafort said the words Melania used were non "cribbed" only are common words.
"There's no cribbing of Michelle Obama'southward voice communication. These were mutual words and values. She cares about her family," Manafort said. "To call back that she'd be cribbing Michelle Obama's words is crazy."
Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee'southward chief strategist, invoked "My Little Pony" in defending the speech in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
"Melania Trump said, 'the strength of your dreams and willingness to piece of work for them.' Twilight Sparkle from 'My Piffling Pony' said, 'This is your dream. Anything you can do in your dreams, you can do now,' " Spicer said.
He also compared passages of Trump's speech communication with phrases from musicians John Fable and Kid Rock.
"I hateful if we want to take a bunch of phrases and run them through a Google and say, 'Hey, who else has said them,' I can practise that in five minutes," Spicer said. "And that's what this is."
However, Trump's campaign faced criticism even from allies, who largely blamed staffers -- not Melania Trump.
Former Trump campaign director Corey Lewandowski said Tuesday that whoever is responsible for writing the should be fired.
"Whoever was the staff person who wrote this speech communication should exist held accountable and should exist fired," Lewandowski told CNN'south John Berman and Kate Bolduan.
Lewandowski, who is a CNN contributor, was fired from the Trump campaign final month.
Republican National Commission Chairman Reince Priebus said at a Bloomberg Politics event Tuesday morning he'd "probably" burn down whoever was responsible for including plagiarized quotes, though he added: "It all kinda depends on the circumstances and how these things are written."
The controversy quickly overshadowed the speech, which was to have been her introduction to voters. Information technology focused on her immigration to the United States and her dear for her husband.
The Trump campaign released a statement on the speech later the similarities were uncovered, merely it did not mention the plagiarism charge.
"In writing her beautiful spoken language, Melania's team of writers took notes on her life's inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking. Melania'south immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her voice communication, which made it such a success," according to Jason Miller, the senior communications adviser.
New Jersey governor and Donald Trump marry Chris Christie defended the speech, maxim, "There's no way that Melania Trump was plagiarizing Michelle Obama's oral communication."
"I just don't meet it," Christie told CNN'due south Jamie Gangel in an interview Tuesday, calculation afterward, "If we're talking about vii% of a speech, that was really, universally considered to be a good functioning past Melania. I know her. At that place'due south no way that Melania Trump was plagiarizing Michelle Obama's speech."
Who wrote the speech?
Side-past-side comparisons of the transcripts show the text in Trump'due south address following, nearly to the word, the would-be future first lady's own from the first night of the Democratic convention in Denver nearly eight years ago.
There were a lot of questions most who wrote the oral communication -- but lilliputian clarity.
Sources familiar with the campaign's handling of Melania Trump'south speech identify tiptop Manafort deputy Rick Gates as the person inside the campaign who oversaw the entire speech process for Melania Trump.
Gates is denying he oversaw the process of putting together the speech.
When CNN's Jim Acosta asked Gates if he oversaw the Melania Trump speech process, he said "absolutely not."
Miller also denied Gates' involvement.
"Rick'southward not a speechwriter and he doesn't have a function in the campaign's speechwriting process -- nosotros have other people for that," he said. "Anybody saying differently is beingness intentionally misleading."
Democrats' role
Manafort, on CNN'south "New Solar day," said the scrutiny over Melania Trump's speech was the work of Clinton'due south campaign.
"This is one time once more an example of when a adult female threatens Hillary Clinton, she seeks out to demean her and take her downward. Information technology'south not going to work," he said.
Nevertheless, Trump'due south aides haven't pointed to any bear witness of Democrats' involvement in fanning the controversy.
The Clinton campaign's communications director Jennifer Palmieri said Manafort'south comments near Clinton's interest were untrue.
"Dainty try, not true. @PaulManafort, blaming Hillary Clinton isn't the answer for ever Trump campaign trouble," Palmieri tweeted.
Clinton'due south campaign on Tuesday focused instead on bashing Republicans for other speeches Monday night, including the female parent of a Benghazi attack victim maxim she'd like to see Clinton imprisoned and the crowd chanting at some other point, "Lock her upwardly!" In a fundraising email to supporters, Clinton'due south campaign said "there'southward a difference between drawing a contrast and baselessly maxim your opponent belongs in jail."
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday that President Barack Obama did non watch Monday night's speeches.
"As it relates to Mrs. Trump'south speech, I'll allow all of you weigh in on all of that and attempt to acquire more about how exactly it was written," Earnest said. "What I can say that in 2008, when Mrs. Obama spoke, she received an enthusiastic reception and strong reviews because of her words, her life story, and the values that she and her husband deeply believe in and effort to instill in their kids."
Earlier in the day, Melania Trump told NBC'southward Matt Lauer: "I read once over information technology, that'southward all, because I wrote it ... with (equally) trivial help as possible."
Here is Trump, on Monday:
"From a immature age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what y'all want in life, that your word is your bail and you practise what y'all say and keep your promise, that you lot care for people with respect. They taught and showed me values and morals in their daily lives. That is a lesson that I continue to pass along to our son," Trump said.
And we demand to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. Because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."
And hither is Obama, on August 25, 2008:
"And Barack and I were raised with so many of the aforementioned values: that you lot work hard for what y'all desire in life; that your word is your bond and you do what y'all say you lot're going to do; that y'all treat people with nobility and respect, fifty-fifty 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 past these values, and to 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 summit of your achievements is the attain of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."
The reaction:
"(To be honest), I was more offended by simply nigh every other spoken language than Melania's plagiarized paragraphs," former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau jokingly tweeted as the accusations went viral hours subsequently Trump's address.
Announcer Jarrett Hill seems to have been one of the first to notice the similarities on Twitter.
He's a big fan of the Obamas, and told CNN over the telephone that i particular line from Michelle Obama's 2008 speech really spoke to him: "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."
When he heard Melania Trump start saying "the only limit to your achievements," he knew something was wrong.
Colina said he then Googled Michelle Obama's speech and saw the similar lines.
"It was kind of a total call up moment," he said.
After he posted the comparing on Twitter, his tweet garnered 16,000 retweets.
"Um. This is becoming a thing," he afterward tweeted.
Never gonna let you down?
In an even stranger twist, some on social media posited that Trump surreptitiously Rickrolled -- a common Internet meme involving vocalist Rick Astley -- everyone in the heart of her voice communication.
"He will never give up," she said of her husband. "And most chiefly, he will never, ever let you down."
The chorus of the 80s archetype sounds very similar: "Never gonna requite you up/ Never gonna permit you lot downwards/ Never gonna run effectually and desert you."
A bit of groundwork -- Rickrolling is where you become someone to unwittingly click on a link to the video of the Astley song "Never Gonna Give You lot Up."
Then, for example, if someone were to tell you to click here, saying it'due south another article almost Melania Trump, and you click on that link, you would be taken to an Astley video and thus take been Rickrolled.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/19/politics/melania-trump-michelle-obama-speech/index.html
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