CEVELAND – As a Trump staffer; Meredith McIver has come out in admission for her wrongdoing in plagiarizing Melania Trump’s Monday convention speech, the media is beating the drum, calling for firings and for admissions that Melania did indeed plagiarize Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic convention speech. The Trump campaign has adamantly spoken out against the allegations, with the campaign manager, Paul Manafort commenting “to think that [Melania would] be cribbing Michelle Obama’s words is crazy” on CNN’s New Day. Views in the camp and outside of the Trump camp have clashed, such as former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski commenting “whoever is responsible for writing [the speech] should be fired.” His view differs substantially from Trump’s and begs the question whether this comment from Lewandowski is payback for his firing in April.
According to the New York Times, Manafort continued that “the media is spending more time doing a forensic analysis of Melania’s speech than the F.B.I. spent on Hillary’s emails.” This valid point shows how biased the media can be, and how far they go to grasp for straws in a desperate attempt for more viewership and subscriptions. The Trump campaign has time and again stood up for their own, for example, Trump’s former manager Corey Lewandowski’s overblown scandal of “punching” a reporter. In Meredith McIver’s statement admitting wrongdoing in regards to the Melania Trump speech, she noted “I offered my resignation to Mr. Trump and the Trump family, but they rejected it. Mr. Trump told me that people make mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences.”
If Melania Trump could have done the speech over again, I am sure she would have restrained from using similar words to the current first lady, but that is not the point. Mrs. Obama’s words are common ground that her and Melania share, and rather than blowing the story out of proportion by the media, this scandal can turn into an opportunity for the first lady and the potential future first lady to start a great new relationship. In McIver’s letter, she did add that “…[Melania] has always liked Michelle Obama.” After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery.
The game continues this evening with high-profile speeches from Trump’s former opponents for POTUS, Marco Rubio & Ted Cruz. We will see if they have chosen to endorse the now formal Republican nominee.