In the video above, Melania Trump's speech from the first night of the Republican National Convention is compared with a speech given by First Lady Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention in 2008. These types of videos have been going viral today after the apparent plagiarism that occurred last night at the RNC, but I am wondering what else is going on behind the scenes. I've been listening in on this issue since last night, and I'm not buying what the Trump campaign is saying.
As a journalism student, I understand the way that plagiarism works very well, and I am very confident in saying that no matter what the Trump campaign says, this was not a coincidence. This was and still is a way for the Trump campaign to mock the Obama administration and get away with it.
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Below I've provided the section of the speech from both parties and put the similarities in bold.
Here is the excerpt in question from Trump's speech last night:
“From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise, that you treat people with respect.
They taught and showed me values and morals in their daily lives. That is a lesson that I continue to pass along to our son. And we need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. Because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.”
And here is an excerpt from First Lady Michelle Obama's speech given at the DNC in 2008:
"And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.
"And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and to pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."
As you can see, there are many similarities. If you ask me, there are way too many of these "similarities" for the Trump campaign to just get away with this and continue forward to the White House. Yes, tonight Donald Trump will become the nominee for the Republican party. Does this limit us from using this information to our advantage? No, it doesn't. Now more than ever, we need to be united as a nation. The lying, name-calling and plagiarizing that is happening with the Trump campaign should motivate us to find another option. Whoever that is, America, it is YOUR choice.
Did Melania Trump willingly present a plagiarized speech? I don't know. None of us do, but we should be able to come together and say, "Hey, there are so many things going wrong with this Trump campaign. Maybe we shouldn't have him as our president."
If you're like me and you're looking for another voting option (other than Donald Trump) this November, there are other options. I have decided who my vote will go to. Educate yourself on current topics and who will represent you and our country to the best of their ability. I'm confident in my choice. Are you confident in yours? Here is a list of all of your presidential candidates so far.
