The Trump campaign has plenty of explanations and/or excuses for the portions of Melania Trump's Republican National Convention speech that many have argued were plagiarized from a previous speech from First Lady Michelle Obama. Speaking with the Hill Tuesday morning, Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson defended Melania's speech by arguing that the portions in question, excerpted in the video above, were simply "Republican values" and nothing more.
"These are values, Republican values by the way, of hard work, determination, family values, dedication and respect, and that's Melania Trump," Pierson told the Hill Tuesday. "This concept that Michelle Obama invented the English language is absurd." Pierson also referenced a previous speech from former First Lady Laura Bush, adding that Melania was "definitely talking about her family, her parents, and the values that she taught."
In a pre-RNC chat with NBC's Matt Lauer, Melania said she "wrote it" with as little help as possible:
Jason Miller, Donald Trump's senior communications advisor, released a statement Tuesday morning defending Melania's speech as a "success" while vaguely referencing the "fragments" of the speech that may have been lifted from Michelle Obama's 2008 DNC address:
"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."
In addition to the official campaign statement and Pierson's comments, others affiliated with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump have offered a handful of supplementary explanations for the apparent plagiarism. For example, at least one person believes the controversy can somehow be traced back to presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. "Once again, this is an example of when a woman threatens Hillary Clinton, she seeks to demean her and take her down," Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort theorized to CNN Tuesday morning.
For others, the controversy surrounding Melania's speech somehow has something to do with My Little Pony:
For Trump himself, well, there's this little gem from 2012:
Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager, argued on CNN Tuesday for full accountability in the plagiarism scandal. "Whoever was the staff person who wrote this speech should be held accountable and should be fired," Lewandowski said.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Complex's request for comment.
