Back in 2010, President Obama said to a crowd in Cleveland, Ohio: "That is not the America I know." And while Obama may have said it first, Donald Trump Jr. is convinced he's the one that actually came up with the line after it appeared in both men's speeches at their respective party conventions this month. On Thursday, the day after Obama delivered his speech to the Democratic National Convention, Donald Jr. leveled an accusation of plagiarism against Obama for using the phrase, which he'd used last week in his address to the Republican National Convention.
In fact, Donald Jr. suggested everyone should be just as angry about this incidence of plagiarism as they were last week about Melania Trump's lifting of several lines, nearly verbatim, from Michelle Obama's 2008 convention speech:
But in the instance of the president's shared phrase with Donald Jr., not only was the context radically different, but also it was Obama who'd uttered that phrase first. Aside from that 2010 mention in Cleveland, NBC News reported Obama used the line in Michigan in 2012 and, most recently, at the memorial service for Dallas police officers earlier this month.
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.
And before Obama even said those fateful words, President George W. Bush did. Way back in 2001, in the days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Bush used the phrase while discussing prejudice against Muslims. "That's not the America I know," Bush lamented — nearly 15 years before Donald Jr., apparently, came up with his signature saying.
Update 4:30 p.m.: Donald Trump Jr. now claims he was joking about being plagiarized by President Obama.
-
‘No Other Choice,’ ‘Dead Man’s Wire,’ and ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’Feature A victim of downsizing turns murderous, an angry Indiana man takes a lender hostage, and a portrait of family by way of three awkward gatherings
-
Political cartoons for January 11Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include green energy, a simple plan, and more
-
The launch of the world’s first weight-loss pillSpeed Read Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been racing to release the first GLP-1 pill
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
