Former first lady Michelle Obama took the stage on the second night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention and dazzled the audience with her charisma, candor, and even an outfit that showed off her most controversial asset. Right out of the gate, she wasted no time taking former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump to task for his “limited, narrow view of the world,” and seamlessly lobbing a jab regarding his use of the term “black jobs.” The crowd erupted into a roar of applause, when Obama asked “Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs’?”
Interestingly enough, however, it was Melania Trump’s name that proved to be on everyone’s lips following Obama’s electric DNC address. “Michelle doing all she can to make sure Melania doesn’t plagiarize this speech,” one Twitter user wrote. Meanwhile, another tweeted, “I swear if Melania shows up tomorrow with long knotless braids braided into a larger braid I’m fighting everyone.”
Melania Trump’s 2016 RNC speech was lifted from Michelle Obama
As you may recall, way back in 2016 as Donald J. Trump was vying for the White House, Melania Trump delivered her very own speech at the Republican National Convention. Alas, the speech turned out to be anything but her own. Shortly after the aspiring first lady exited the stage, commentators and political pundits everywhere immediately began pointing out the striking and overt similarities, even blatant word-for-word plagiarism, between Melania’s speech and that of Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech. As one can imagine, this quickly became a media moment Melania could never erase.
Eventually staff writer Meredith McIver came forward and issued a statement, taking full responsibility for Melania’s plagiarized RNC speech. “A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama,” McIver explained, before noting that Melania had shared a few passages from Obama’s aforementioned DNC speech as an example. “I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech,” she confessed. “I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches. That 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.” McIver also revealed that while she offered the Trumps her resignation, they ultimately rejected it, assuring her that “people make innocent mistakes.” Perhaps only time will tell as to whether or not Mrs. Trump draws any inspiration from Mrs. Obama’s 2024 DNC speech.
