Melania Trump recounts 'betrayal' of campaign staffer, feeling 'abandoned' after 2016 RNC speech plagiarism scandal,

By 
 October 9, 2024

Former first lady Melania Trump's new memoir is reportedly filled with a wide variety of interesting revelations, some of which provide new context to previously reported incidents.

One such example was the allegations of plagiarism that marred her 2016 Republican National Convention speech, which she described as a "betrayal" by a specific staffer and left her feeling "abandoned" by the Trump campaign, according to the Independent.

Melania was accused of copying excerpts from former first lady Michelle Obama's 2008 convention speech, something she insisted should have been caught by the speechwriter or the campaign, and the resulting negative news cycle from the biased media set a bad tone for the next several years.

Accused of plagiarism

In her self-titled memoir, which went on sale on Tuesday, the former first lady revealed that an in-house writer for the Trump Organization, Meredith McIver, was brought in by the Trump campaign to help her write a speech for the RNC gathering in the summer of 2016.

"During my review of many speeches of previous First Ladies, Michelle’s emphasis on the fundamental values of hard work, integrity, and kindness resonated deeply, reflecting the core principles that were instilled in me by my parents during my upbringing in Slovenia," Melania wrote.

"In my discussions with Meredith, I conveyed the significance of parents imparting these values to their children," she continued. "While I relied on Meredith to help me with the speech and the campaign to review it, I was pleased with the final result."

The speech initially went over well with Republicans, but controversy quickly erupted when Democrats and the media cried foul over the remarkable likenesses with Obama's 2008 DNC speech, and Trump said, "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," she recounted. "The weight of this realization hit me with a force I had never experienced. Looking back, I realized that I had relied too much on others in this crucial endeavor."

"This negligence left me feeling completely abandoned"

The Independent wrote that the future first lady turned in "frustration" to the future president and demanded to know, "Why was the speech not vetted?" However, while Donald Trump "expressed disappointment" about what had occurred, he was "unable to provide" an answer to her question.

To be sure, McIver accepted the blame at the time and apologized for the mishap, per NPR at the time, but according to Melania's book, "the damage was done."

"The absence of a detailed review was a glaring oversight that now cast a shadow on my work. Discovering the team’s failure to perform their duty filled me with a profound sense of betrayal," she wrote.

She further accused the "professionals" of her husband's campaign and the RNC of having left her "on my own" to defend herself and further lamented, "This negligence left me feeling completely abandoned, I felt a deep sense of outrage and disappointment."

This helps explain things

The recounting of this public relations disaster that occurred before she even entered the White House could help explain, at least in part, the former first lady's apparent reticence to become heavily involved in the former president's current re-election campaign.

The horrid manner in which the biased media handled the incident could also help explain why the Trump White House and first lady's office were so often combative and defensive when dealing with reporters during the Trumps' tenure in office.

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