Melania Trump Said She Wrote Controversial RNC Speech Herself

Melania Trump has come under fire after critics accused her of plagiarizing her Republican National Convention speech

Before she was bombarded with accusations that she plagiarized Michelle Obama,Melania Trump said she wrote her Republican National Convention speech herself “with as little help as possible.”

“I read over it, and that’s all,” she told Today’s Matt Lauer on Monday before her speech. “Because I wrote it with as little help as possible.”

But after Trump, 46, came under fire when it was revealed several passages of her speech were similar to Michelle Obama‘s 2008 address at the Democratic National Convention, Donald Trump‘s campaign released a statement that Melania had a “team of writers” working with her.

“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,” the statement read. “Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success,” the statement read.

Donald’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort called claims that Trump plagiarized the speech “absurd.”

“To think that she would do something like that knowing how scrutinized her speech was going to be last night is just really absurd,” he said, adding that Trump did not copy Obama’s speech.

“There’s no cribbing of Michelle Obama’s speech. These were common words and values,” Manafort said. “She cares about her family. To think that she’d be cribbing Michelle Obama’s words is crazy.”

In her speech, Melania spoke of her childhood, saying, “From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise; that you treat people with respect.”

Many accused Trump of lifting a chunk of her speech from Obama’s which reads: “Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work 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 dignity and respect.”

Her husband, Donald Trump, 70, applauded his wife’s speech on social media, “It was truly an honor to introduce my wife, Melania Trump last night. Her speech and demeanor were absolutely incredible. Very proud!”

Melania Trump’s Republican Convention Speech Had Similar Lines to Michelle Obama’s 2008 Address

RNC chairman Reince Priebus defended Trump’s speech, calling it “inspirational” and a “great immigrant story,” but said he’d “probably” fire the woman’s speech writer.

“I don’t blame her,” he told Bloomberg Politics. “Some of these things are pretty common types of themes.”

Trump worked with a speechwriter for five to six weeks to perfect her speech, according to CNN. She reportedly did not use a teleprompter and hardly strayed from the script.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended MElania Trump during a Tuesday appearance on the Today show.

“Ninety-three percent of the speech is completely different than Michelle Obama’s speech,” he said. “They expressed some common thoughts. The worst day of the convention is the first day the delegates and the media want something to cover, a controversy to talk about.”