Trump Staff Writer Takes Blame For Issues With Melania Trump's Speech
DALLAS (CBSDFW) - Meredith McIver, a staff writer for Donald Trump's campaign, has taken the blame for the controversial speech given by Trump's wife Melania Monday at the Republican National Convention.
Melania Trump's speech was well received until word spread that the speech contained two passages that matched nearly word-for-word the speech that first lady Michelle Obama delivered in 2008 at the Democratic National Convention.
The passages in question focus on lessons that Donald Trump's wife says she learned from her parents and the relevance of their lessons in her experience as a mother. They came near the beginning of her roughly 10-minute speech. Mrs. Trump's address was otherwise distinct from the address that Mrs. Obama gave when then-Sen. Barack Obama was being nominated for president.
This is not new to politics.Vice President Joe Biden has been accused of repeating portions of speeches without mentioning the author. President Obama also took heat for copying portions of former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's speeches.
Take a listen to the speeches below to hear their similarities.
Deval Patrick speech from June 3, 2006....President Obama speech from November 2, 2007.
Deval Patrick speech from October 15, 2006...President Obama speech from February 16, 2008.
Robert F Kennedy speech March 18, 1968....Vice President Joe Biden January 31, 1987.
First lady Michelle Obama also found herself mired in controversy ...not for quoting someone...but for a statement she made in several speeches while campaigning for her husband on February 19,2008.
Here is the entire text of the statement from Trump staff writer:
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
"My name is Meredith McIver and I'm an in-house staff writer at the Trump Organizatin. I am also a longtime friend and admirer of the Trump family.
In working with Melania Trump on her recent First Lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people. A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama's speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. I did not check Mrs. Obama's speeches. This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant.
Yesterday, I offered my resignation to Mr. Trump and the Trump family, but they rejected it. Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences.
I asked to put out this statement because I did not like seeing the way this was distracting from Mr. Trump's historic campaign for president and Melania's beautiful message and presentation.
I apologize for the confusion and hysteria my mistake has caused. Today, more than ever, I am honored to work for such a great family. I personally admire the way Mr. Trump has handled this situation and I am grateful for his understanding."
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