When Melania Trump, the wife of GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump, stepped to the microphone at the Republican National Convention Monday night, some of her words may have seemed familiar.
And as it happened, they were: a portion of her speech was identical -- and another portion nearly identical -- to the address given by current first lady Michelle Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo.
The tape tells the tale, and a transcript of Mrs. Obama's speech is posted via NPR.
A handful of the first lady's words are changed, and Mrs. Trump's speech deviated from Mrs. Obama's track briefly, but came back to the words of her potential predecessor in short order.
Hours earlier, she told NBC's Matt Lauer that she had written the speech herself with little help.
Here are transcripts of the matching portions of the speech:
Melania Trump:
My parents impressed on me the value of that you work hard for what you want in life. That your work is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise.That you treat people with respect. Show the values and morals in in the daily life. That is the lesson that we continue to pass on to our son. We need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. [Cheering] Because we want our children in these nations to know that the only limit to your achievement is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.
Michelle Obama in 2008:
And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignityand respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.
And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.
A statement on the Trump campaign website called the speech "a success."
"In writing her beautiful speech, Melania's team of writers took notes on her life’s inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking. Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success."
Donald Trump himself appeared to have enjoyed the speech.
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