Featured Image Credit: Kevin Dietsch - Pool/Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Politics
Bec Oakes
Topics: Celebrity, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Politics
Melania Trump has faced a lot of backlash during her time as First Lady.
In her 2024 memoir, the 54-year-old opened up about how she felt being accused of plagiarising a 2016 speech from one Michelle Obama made eight years earlier.
During her husband Donald Trump's 2016 campaign to become US president, Melania addressed the nation in her first speech to American voters.
However, people were quick to point out that there appeared to be uncanny similarities to a speech previously made by Michelle.
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In one example, Melania said: "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."
Now compare that to Michelle's speech from 2008, which read: "And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: like, you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, that you do what you say you're going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect."
Many thought the similarities between the two speeches were undeniable and Melania was soon accused of plagiarising Michelle's words.
In Melania, the Slovenian national opened up about feeling 'abandoned' following the controversy.
She wrote: "My sense of accomplishment on our flight back home swiftly turned to dismay and shock as news of a potential accusation of plagiarism reached our campaign. My initial reaction was one of disbelief, but upon closer examination, the undeniable similarities between the two speeches left me reeling."
Melania revealed that Michelle's quotes were inadvertently included in a draft of her speech after she'd shared the 2008 address with Trump Campaign employee Meredith McIver as it had 'resonated deeply' with her.
While McIver later apologised for the error, the First Lady shared that she'd felt 'abandoned' by the Trump Campaign and Republican National Committee.
"Discovering the team's failure to perform their duty filled me with a profound sense of betrayal. These were professionals, charged with ensuring the success of our campaign, yet they failed to implement even the most fundamental safeguard," Melania said.
"This negligence left me feeling completely abandoned. I felt a deep sense of outrage and disappointment."
She described the controversy as a 'crucial lesson in the realities of the political world' and vowed to take greater control of such tasks in the future.