Donald Trump's campaign released a statement on Wednesday regarding the accusations that Melania Trump plagiarized sections from a 2008 Michelle Obama speech for her own speech Monday night at the Republican National Convention. In the statement, Trump in-house staff writer Meredith McIver took responsibility for Melania's controversial phrasing.
McIver described the apparent plagiarism as an honest mistake that resulted from her conversations with Melania during the speechwriting process:
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. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama's speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. 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 went on to say, "I offered my resignation to Mr. Trump and the Trump family, but they rejected it. Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences."
The debate over Melania's speech began online Monday night after some keen-eared individuals pointed out that certain portions echoed the first lady's speech at the Demoncratic National Convention in 2008. Here's a side-by-side comparison of the two:
Various members of the Trump organization and Republican party quickly came to Melania's defense following the accusations. Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's campaign chair, claimed that the wife of the Republican nominee "never cribbed from another speech," while the chief strategist for the Republican National Committee, Sean Spicer, argued that the phrases in question were "common." Spicer compared Melania's phrasing to that of singers like Akon and John Legend, as well as Twilight Sparkle from children's television progam "My Little Pony."
Donald Trump himself, now officially the GOP nominee for President, expressed his joy that the speech was getting so much media attention:
McIver has apparently worked for the Trump organization for some time, previously ghostwriting several of Donald Trump's books according to Everipedia. However, I'd guess being part of a plagiarism scandal is not how she wanted to step into the spotlight.