A spokeswoman for Donald Trump’s campaign dismissed controversy over the portions of Melania Trump’s convention speech that were potentially plagiarized from Michelle Obama’s 2008 address by arguing the first lady did not invent the English language.
“This concept that Michelle Obama invented the English language is absurd,” Katrina Pierson, a campaign spokeswoman, told a reporter for The Hill in an exchange that was captured on Facebook Live.
“These are values — Republican values, by the way — of hard work, determination, family values, dedication and respect, and that’s Melania Trump,” Pierson said.
Pierson said Laura Bush’s 2004 remarks likely contain similar sentiments.
Melania Trump has come under heavy fire since delivering her highly anticipated convention speech Monday night after reporters spotted passages from her address that appeared to be cribbed from the speech Michelle Obama gave at the Democratic convention eight years ago.
The Trump team has blamed Hillary Clinton’s campaign for playing up the similarities between Melania Trump’s words and Michelle Obama’s, arguing any overlap is purely coincidental.
