Skip to main content
The homepageVoxVox logo
The homepageVoxVox logo

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Trump camp admits Melania speech passages came from Michelle Obama’s speech

by Timothy B. Lee
Republican National Convention: Day One
Republican National Convention: Day One
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
Part Of
Republican National Convention 2016: news and updates
see all updates

After 36 hours of vehemently denying that passages from Melania Trump’s Monday night speech were lifted from the 2008 Democratic convention speech of Michelle Obama, the Trump camp is now acknowledging the obvious:

Trump speechwriter Meredith McIver says the copied passages were due to a miscommunication. In her telling, Melania read some phrases to McIver over the phone and McIver didn’t realize they were verbatim quotes from Obama’s 2008 speech.

McIver says she offered to resign, but the Trump family asked her to stay on the job.

Comparing Speeches by Melania Trump and Michelle Obama

See More:

More in: Republican National Convention 2016: news and updates

Donald Trump has ushered in a whole new era of fact-checking in journalismDonald Trump has ushered in a whole new era of fact-checking in journalism
“America First”: Donald Trump’s slogan has a deeply bigoted backstory“America First”: Donald Trump’s slogan has a deeply bigoted backstory
Donald Trump has no real answer for the collapsing US coal industryDonald Trump has no real answer for the collapsing US coal industry

Most Popular

  1. Donald Trump messed with the wrong pope
  2. Take a mental break with the newest Vox crossword
  3. The Supreme Court could legalize moonshine, and ruin everything else
  4. The Air Quality Index and how to use it, explained
  5. What trainers actually think about the 12-3-30 workout

More in Politics

The Logoff
Trump’s DOJ wants to undo January 6 convictionsTrump’s DOJ wants to undo January 6 convictions
The Logoff

How the Trump administration is still trying to rewrite January 6 history.

By Cameron Peters
Politics
Donald Trump messed with the wrong popeDonald Trump messed with the wrong pope
Politics

Trump fought with Pope Francis before. He’s finding Pope Leo XIV to be a tougher foil.

By Christian Paz
Podcasts
A cautionary tale about tax cutsA cautionary tale about tax cuts
Podcast
Podcasts

California cut property taxes in the 1970s. It didn’t go so well.

By Miles Bryan and Noel King
Podcasts
Obama’s top Iran negotiator on Trump’s screwupsObama’s top Iran negotiator on Trump’s screwups
Podcast
Podcasts

Wendy Sherman helped Obama reach a deal with Iran. Here’s what she thinks Trump is doing wrong.

By Kelli Wessinger and Noel King
Politics
The Supreme Court could legalize moonshine, and ruin everything elseThe Supreme Court could legalize moonshine, and ruin everything else
Politics

McNutt v. DOJ could allow the justices to seize tremendous power over the US economy.

By Ian Millhiser
The Logoff
The new Hormuz blockade, briefly explainedThe new Hormuz blockade, briefly explained
The Logoff

Trump tries Iran’s playbook.

By Cameron Peters