Donald Trump has been blaming Melania's speechwriter since 2007
A writer named Meredith McIver took the blame for composing Melania Trump's Republican convention speech, which borrowed generously from Michelle Obama. "This 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 wrote in an open letter; she reportedly offered her resignation to Trump, which he denied. "She made a mistake... we all make mistakes," Trump said.
Only, McIver has been "making mistakes" for Trump since at least 2007. Trump was in court that year for a deposition by the lawyers of a reporter Trump was trying to sue. In the two days he was under oath, lawyers found 30 different instances of Trump telling exaggerations or flat-out lies. At one point, Trump got caught inflating the amount of debt he was under in his book, How to Get Rich:
The depth of that financial hole made it seem even more impressive that Trump had climbed out again. But the figure was wrong. His actual debts had been much less."I pointed it out to the person who wrote the book," Trump said, meaning [Meredith] McIver."Right after she wrote the book?""That's correct," Trump said.Then the lawyer showed Trump another book he'd written with McIver, three years later."In fact, I was $9 billion in debt," Trump read aloud. A similar error, repeated. It was McIver's fault again."She probably forgot," Trump said."And when you read it, you didn't correct it?""I didn't see it," Trump said."You didn't see it.""I read it very quickly," Trump said about a book he was credited with writing. [The Washington Post]
It's all rather... convenient. Read about Trump coming clean (kind of) over at The Washington Post.
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.
-
One great cookbook: Joshua McFadden’s ‘Six Seasons of Pasta’the week recommends The pasta you know and love. But ever so much better.
-
Scientists are worried about amoebasUnder the radar Small and very mighty
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
