It's undeniable when compared side-by-side: at least one section of Melania Trump's Monday night speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland plagiarized Michelle Obama's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Here are the sections of the speech in question, transcribed by CNN:
Melania Trump’s speech on Monday:
From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise, that you treat people with respect. They taught and showed me values and morals in their daily life.
That is a lesson I continue to pass along to our son, and we need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. Because we want our children in this nation to know is the only limits to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.
Michelle Obama’s speech in 2008:
And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even 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 by these values, and 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 height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.
Jason Miller, Senior Communications Advisor for the Trump campaign, released a statement addressing the speech's contents:
"In writing her beautiful speech, Melania's team of writers took notes on her life’s inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking. Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success.”
Before she gave the speech, Melania Trumptold NBC's Matt Lauer "I read once over it, that's all, because I wrote it, with as little help as possible."
The social media reaction was largely shock -- and humor, of course.
The text of #MelaniaTrump's next speech is leaked: pic.twitter.com/DTLzDE1cd3
— Adrian Teal (@AdeTeal) July 19, 2016
I of course grew slightly suspicious when #MelaniaTrump said that bit about being a young black woman growing up in Illinois. #plagarism
— Sean Brightman (@sbdetweets) July 19, 2016
Melania: "These accusations about my speech hurt not only me, but also hurt my children Sasha and Malia". #RNCinCLE
— bob fisher (@umlautilde) July 19, 2016
I really don't see why everyone has such a problem with #MelaniaTrump's speech. pic.twitter.com/qxpBw1iioj
— Tom Freeman (@SnoozeInBrief) July 19, 2016
"And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!"#FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes pic.twitter.com/yAqtjSVucH
— Closeted Gay Guy (@CGGuy44) July 19, 2016
And the hashtag #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes is lit.
"Ain't I a woman?" #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes #RNCinCLE
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 19, 2016
"Now this is a story all about how my life got twist-turned upside down." #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
— Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) July 19, 2016
"Barack Obama is still the same man I fell in love with all those years ago." #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
— Fielding Mellish (@n64k) July 19, 2016
A tweet that shows screenshots of President Obama and Donald Trump's reactions to their respective wives' convention speeches showed more apparent plagairism; however, this tweet was found to be a fraud. Read the Snopes article here.
@realDonaldTrump you just can't cut and paste your way thru a presidency #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes pic.twitter.com/lZVqqZJewQ
— Jolynn Oblak (@JolynnO) July 19, 2016
Bonus: Did Melania also rip off Rick Astley, too?
"He will never give up. And, most importantly, he will never, ever let you down."
Sound familiar?
The troll-y nature of Rickrolling -- sneaking the infamous "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down" into another person's life, either verbally or with a link -- led some people to believe that Melania herself was set up.
Can totally imagine the Trump kids offering to help out their step mom and having a laugh as they add a little plagiarism and a rickroll.
— Rich Barrett (@RichcBarrett) July 19, 2016
I’m no conspiracy theorist, but between the plagiarism and the probable rickroll, I’m not convinced this wasn’t a deliberate sabotage.
— Jaclyn Friedman (@jaclynf) July 19, 2016
Honestly, the Rickroll does make me suspect sabotage from within. https://t.co/90eSmA3Gdz
— Jen Michigander (@JenMichigander) July 19, 2016
How do you think this happened?
