Finding the humor in Melania's plagiarism blunder
Perhaps the best thing about Melania's instance of borrowed words was the avalanche of hilarious, quick-witted reactions that followed
In between harsh rhetorical broadsides against President Obama and his former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, at Monday night's Republican National Convention, Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, stepped in with a refreshingly positive speech about herself and her husband. It was a good speech, introduced rockstar-style by Donald Trump himself, a clear highlight of the evening matched only perhaps by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's impassioned attack on Clinton and President Obama.
But Melania Trump's speech, which she claimed to have written most of, quickly went from asset to liability, when people started noticing curious similarities between her language and the speech Michelle Obama gave in 2008 while introducing her husband, soon-to-be-President Obama.
The apparent plagiarism doesn't sound much better in stereo:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Melania's speech quickly became the news of the night, and not in a way that reflects very positively on Donald Trump's campaign:
The cryptic response from the Trump campaign only added fuel to the already raging dumpster fire.
Plagiarism is a serious accusation, and it can severely cripple political aspirations — just ask Joe Biden. This may not be the first time Melania Trump borrowed heavily from a black woman, either. But Melania isn't a politician. So what are we to do with this pretty egregious, high-profile example of cut-and-paste speechwriting?
Some observers, like The New Republic's Brian Beutler, argue that we shouldn't just laugh off the wife of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee lifting whole lines from the speech of the wife of the president said nominee routinely criticizes as incompetent and worse.
The apparent plagiarism — which Beutler says he suspects Melania was not aware of — amplifies the charge that Trump is "sloppy, erratic, in so many ways the opposite of the virtues he claims to embody," he says, but is also "a depiction of a campaign that nurtures white grievance and resentment trying to profit off the work of a black woman, from an African-American family that Trump and his supporters regularly belittle." The Week's Marc Ambinder hits a similar theme.
All of this may be true, but the idea of Melania Trump plagiarizing Michelle Obama also has a decidedly humorous element to it. Twitter on Monday night and early Tuesday morning was a virtual comedy club, with pundits of all stripes trying out their comedy chops:
But perhaps the funniest reaction is an apparently sincere appreciation of Melania's speech from a Trump supporter with the Twitter name Inductivist:
Of course, laughter and outrage are two sides of the same coin, with laughter the more attractive one. There's room for both responses. And Mrs. Trump does have her defenders, including former spelling-based game show host Chuck Woolery:
"Deference," Chuck? Sometimes the jokes really do write themselves.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Senegal's Bassirou Diomaye Faye: from prison to Africa's youngest elected leader
Why everyone's talking about The 44-year-old has resonated with young people by promising to shake up the establishment and enact economic reforms
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Unthinkable tragedy'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will North Korea take advantage of Israel-Hamas conflict?
Today's Big Question Pyongyang's ties with Russia are 'growing and dangerous' amid reports it sent weapons to Gaza
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published