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The internet rewrites Melania Trump’s RNC speech after plagiarism accusations

She's accused of plagiarizing a 2008 Michelle Obama speech.

 

Michelle Jaworski

Internet Culture

Posted on Jul 19, 2016   Updated on May 26, 2021, 10:39 am CDT

On Monday night, Melania Trump took the stage at the Republican National Convention to deliver her speech, which almost immediately drew accusations of plagiarism

Critics pointed out how similar her speech—designed to warm up and humanize her husband, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump—sounded to First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech, given just prior Barack Obama receiving his presidential nomination. Some noted she lifted entire paragraphs from Obama’s address. 

While Trump told Today’s Matt Lauer that his wife “wrote it with as little help as possible,” people online aren’t buying it. Instead, they’re offering a glimpse into Melania’s future speech-writing with #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes.

The range of quotes vary, but the hashtag basically comes down to a question of what other famous quotes the possible First Lady could plagiarize.

https://twitter.com/agentbizzle/status/755285929305083904

https://twitter.com/beauty_jackson/status/755350887447531520

https://twitter.com/mockalattee/status/755308327345807360

https://twitter.com/Parker9_/status/755290229456510976

https://twitter.com/michaelcrowley/status/755256679101411329

Jokes aside, some people used #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes to make a much larger point of Melania plagiarizing Obama’s words.

And some pointed out that Melania’s inclination to plagiarize says more about the Trumps in general than anything else.

Two of Donald Trump’s children will speak at the RNC Tuesday night, and given Melania’s speech on Monday, theirs will likely be under even greater scrutiny.

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*First Published: Jul 19, 2016, 9:18 am CDT