Tonight at the Republican National Convention, potential first lady Melania Trump delivered the night’s headlining speech in what was her most important moment in the public eye since she married Donald Trump 11 years ago. The speech was praised by hacks on both sides of the aisle (and the middle), though there might unintentionally be a reason for that: As first pointed out by journalist Jarrett Hill, Melania—or more likely her speechwriters—appears to have lifted at least one crucial section of her speech from the one Michelle Obama gave at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
You can see Trump’s words presented side-by-side with Obama’s in the video above. Some phrases—such as “that your word is your bond” and “your willingness to work hard for them”—were lifted nearly word-for-word or exactly so, with the rest of the section seemingly specifically tailored to avoid detection. Here are transcripts of the parts in question:
Obama: Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values...Trump: My parents impressed on me the values...
Obama: ...like: you work hard for what you want in life...Trump: ...that you work hard for what you want in life.
Obama: ...that your word is your bond, that you do what you say you’re gonna do...Trump: ...that your word is your bond, and you do what you say...
Obama: ...that you treat people with dignity and respect...Trump: ...that you treat people with respect...
Obama: ...because we want our children and all children in this nation to know...Trump: ...because we want our children in this nation to know...
Obama: ...the only limits on the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams...Trump: ...that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams...
Obama: ...and your willingness to work hard for them.Trump: ...and your willingness to work for them.
In an interview with Matt Lauer, Trump said that she wrote the speech. Here is the Trump campaign’s vague statement, which doesn’t admit to any plagiarism as much as it describes the process of speechwriting:
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