Trump aide takes responsibility for Melania speech
CLEVELAND — A Trump aide has taken responsibility for the controversy over Melania Trump’s speech, saying she offered to resign but Trump rejected it.
In a statement released by the Trump campaign, in-house staff writer (and ghostwriter of multiple books authored by Donald Trump) Meredith McIver said it “was my mistake.”
It took two days for the Trump campaign to even acknowledge that parts of the speech were the same as first lady Michelle Obama's 2008 Democratic convention speech. As recently as Wednesday morning, Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was denying the overlap in an interview on CNN.
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But the press around the speech and the campaign's denial of the obvious overlap in wording was proving to be a significant distraction for the Trump campaign — although just before McIver's statement, the Republican presidential nominee tweeted that "all press is good press!"
The full statement from McIver is below:
"TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
"My name is Meredith McIver and I’m an in-house staff writer at the Trump Organization. I am also a longtime friend and admirer of the Trump family.
"In working with Melania Trump on her recent First Lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people. A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches. 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.
"Yesterday, I offered my resignation to Mr. Trump and the Trump family, but they rejected it. Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences.
"I asked to put out this statement because I did not like seeing the way this was distracting from Mr. Trump’s historic campaign for president and Melania’s beautiful message and presentation.
"I apologize for the confusion and hysteria my mistake has caused. Today, more than ever, I am honored to work for such a great family. I personally admire the way Mr. Trump has handled this situation and I am grateful for his understanding.
"Sincerely,
"Meredith McIver"
Outside the Quicken Loans Arena where the Republican convention is taking place, Jim Moyer, 56, of Pittsburgh said he is supportive of Trump's decision to reject the speechwriter's resignation.
"I have a lot of respect for Donald Trump for his loyalty to his people," says Moyer, who came to Cleveland just for the day. "You want to hold people accountable, but he made the right decision. I feel bad for Melania. The truth is, it's not that big a deal. We have serious problems in our country. The last thing we need to worry about is a stupid little line in a speech."
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest was asked whether he or the president was upset that the first lady's speech had been used. Earnest said he'd let people "draw their own conclusions."
“The fact that Mrs. Trump received such warm applause and such a strong review of her speech based on reflection of the same kinds of values that were included in Mrs. Obama’s speech — I think that’s an indication that this country has got a lot of common ground even in spite of the political divisions that are on display at the convention," Earnest said.
More coverage:
Professors say Melania's speech would count as plagiarism
Eric Trump says 'zero' speechwriters helped with his speech
Fact check: Trump surrogates deny plagiarism
The single most insightful tweet about the Trump campaign
Contributing: Natalie DiBlasio