CLEVELAND — Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz noted the similarities between Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech and Melania Trump’s speech Monday night, saying Donald Trump’s campaign should be held accountable.
“The Trump campaign is the one that should be held accountable for the content of it,” Wasserman Schultz told reporters on Tuesday during a press conference hosted by Hillary for America, just a few blocks from the site of the Republican Convention arena. “I thought Melania Trump comported herself very well on stage in front of the American people. She gave a very nice speech.”
The Florida congresswoman added that “the Clinton campaign isn’t pressing this issue,” and will not do so in the future. But, “what’s very clear is that the media has seen extreme similarities between one person’s delivered speech and Melania’s. And one really only has to plug the passages of the speech in an online tool to see those similarities.”
Trump’s wife’s speech largely echoed President Obama’s wife’s speech during the 2008 Democratic convention in at least one paragraph. Melania nearly verbatim repeated Michelle’s lines about the “values that you work hard for what you want in life” and how important it is to pass these lessons down to your children.
“It’s not remotely surprising that the Trump campaign had another in a series of evidence of how not ready and not prepared he is to assume the White House and be the President of the United States,” Wasserman Schultz stated. “From the fact that they have no staff here on the ground in Ohio, to the chaos that reigned on their convention floor … That tells you all you need to know about any statement like that.”
