<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><div>Courtesy of the <i>Huffington Post</i> at:</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/melania-trump-speech-plagiarized_us_578da752e4b0a0ae97c33675">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/melania-trump-speech-plagiarized_us_578da752e4b0a0ae97c33675</a></div><div><br></div><div>---------------------------------</div><div><h1 class="headline__title" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: ProximaNovaCond-Extrabld, NotoKufiArabic-Bold, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.1em; font-weight: normal; visibility: visible; font-size: 2.625rem; letter-spacing: -0.02em; max-width: 900px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Melania Trump Plagiarized Her Convention Speech From Michelle Obama</h1><h2 class="headline__subtitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: NotoNashkArabic, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5rem; font-weight: normal; visibility: visible; color: rgb(117, 117, 117); font-size: 1.125rem; max-width: 630px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Mrs. Trump appears to have lifted two paragraphs almost verbatim from Mrs. Obama.</h2><div> </div><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In her first major address before the nation on Monday night, Melania Trump appears to have plagiarized a number of lines from first lady Michelle Obama’s speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The plagiarized passages, in bold below, concerned the importance of hard work and honesty.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;">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,”</strong> Trump told the thousands of Republican delegates and assembled media on Monday night in Cleveland.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In 2008, Mrs. Obama said, <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;">“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,</strong> even if you don’t know them, and even if you don’t agree with them.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Trump’s spouse also lifted a line about children from Michelle Obama, saying, <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;">“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.” </strong></span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In 2008, Michelle Obama said, <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;">“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.”</strong></span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Huffington Post reached out to the Trump campaign about the lifted lines, but a spokeswoman did not reply to the questions. A party spokesperson said the Republican National Committee would not be commenting on the issue.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Melania Trump was born in Slovenia, and English is one of a number of languages she speaks. Her Monday night primetime speech was the highlight of the first night of the 2016 Republican National Convention. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Regardless of whether the Trumps watched Michelle Obama’s speech in 2008 live, we do know that Donald Trump enjoyed her 2012 address.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The apparent plagiarism was originally pointed out by journalist and interior designer <a href="https://twitter.com/jarretthill/status/755242423991709697" target="_blank" data-beacon="{"p":{"mnid":"entry_text","lnid":"citation","mpid":3}}" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Jarrett Hill</a> on Twitter.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It’s unclear how much of her speech Melania actually wrote, but earlier in the day <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/exclusive-the-trumps-speak-with-matt-lauer-727480899958" target="_blank" data-beacon="{"p":{"mnid":"entry_text","lnid":"citation","mpid":4}}" style="box-sizing: inherit;">she told NBC’s</a> Matt Lauer, “I read once over it and that’s all. Because I wrote it and with [as] little help as possible.” </span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As word of the plagiarism began to spread early Tuesday, Trump supporters on cable news offered little in the way of defense. Jeffrey Lord, a Trump supporter on CNN, said whoever was responsible for the plagiarism “should not be there.” Overall, however, he downplayed the issue. “This is not Benghazi.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Trump communications adviser Jason Miller, <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/statement-on-melania-trump-speech" target="_blank" data-beacon="{"p":{"mnid":"entry_text","lnid":"citation","mpid":5}}" style="box-sizing: inherit;">in a response early Tuesday, </a>acknowledged that Melania Trump plagiarized “fragments” of her speech and referred to a “team of writers,” essentially refuting her claim that she wrote the speech.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“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,” Miller said in a statement. “Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success.” </span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Tuesday tried to shift blame for the plagiarism issue to Hillary Clinton supporters. “There’s no cribbing of Michelle Obama’s speech,” he said on CNN’s “New Day.” “These were common words and values that she cares about — her family, things like that.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I mean, she was speaking in front of 35 million people last night,” Mr. Manafort said. “She knew that. To think that she would be cribbing Michelle Obama’s words is crazy.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; line-height: 27px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I mean, this is once again an example of when a woman threatens Hillary Clinton, how she seeks out to demean her and take her down,” he said. “It’s not going to work.”</span></p></div><div>---------------------------------</div><div><br><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></body></html>