Following the speech given at the Republican National Convention (R.N.C.) Monday night by Slovene-American Melania Trump, proof of plagiarism has surfaced indicating that much of the performance was lifted from First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech at the Democratic National Convention (D.N.C). I am not here to debate these allegations. I think enough evidence has arisen to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that many of the sentences were cribbed from our First Lady’s. In fact, I could mention that Donald Trump is pissed about the whole incident, or so two sources told CNN. I could also speculate that his wife doesn’t seem to speak English well enough to have written her speech, as demonstrated by the interviews she gives. Finally, I could hypothesize that someone from inside of his campaign could have easily set Donald Trump up to make his wife look like an idiot in front of all of America. Actually, if someone did set Donald DumpTruck up, and they’re out there, and they happen to read this article, you rock. Consider me impressed.
However, I am not here to focus on any of these things.
Instead, I am here to talk about the way in which we frame Melania Trump for committing such a crime. I promise you, Melania Trump is not writing her own speeches, despite what she may say on camera. The person that wrote the speech is the true culprit here, and nobody else, regardless of what both the media and public may claim.
Now, I can’t say for sure whether Michelle Obama writes her own speeches, either. I would believe that a woman as intelligent and accomplished as First Lady Michelle writes many or most of her speeches, but I would also believe that writers within the D.N.C. put together a speech for her in 2008, and have done so since. Regardless of the origin of the original content, intellectual property has been stolen and rebranded for the sake of furthering the competition between our First Lady and the wife of the presumed Republican nominee.
It drives me crazy to see multiple facebook posts, tweets, people on television, and luring article titles capitalizing off of this highly political feud and directly blaming Melania Trump for plagiarizing Michelle Obama, who again may or may not have written the original speech. In light of the fact she would have had to have dug up the 2008 speech, picked through it, and copied what she found suitable for her own, can we collectively stop pretending that there’s any way in the entire universe that Melania wrote her own goddamn speech? Can we stop pretending that this woman is anything other than a tool that the R.N.C., and Donald Trump, will use to get Monald Mump elected into office? Seriously, no more, “US election: Melania Trump ‘plagiarised’ Michelle Obama (BBC)” or, “People Lampooned Melania Trump For Copying Michelle Obama’s Speech (BuzzFeed).”
Because you know what? While writers in the R.N.C., the D.N.C., and the mainstream media figure out how to pander to you, how to write just what they know you’ll love to hear, and how exactly they have the best shot of getting Tonald Drump or Hillary Clinton elected, they probably have completely separate agendas already figured out— or in negotiation— that I promise you we are hearing nothing about. This is just another media distraction that keeps us from talking about many of the true issues this country is facing right now, like climate change, police brutality and voter suppression. As for the corruption behind the curtain, I’m talking about potential wars, or alliances with Wall Street banks and oil corporations. I’m talking rigged elections. I’m talking serious business, people.
So go ahead, talk about this incident. But don’t blame Melania Trump for the episode; she is just a single device in the machine that is the Republican National Convention. It would be wise of us not to forget it.
Sources
- Haberman, M., Rappeport, A., & Healy, P. (2016, July 19). Melania Trump’s Speech Bears Striking Similarities to Michelle Obama’s in 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/us/politics/melania-trump-speech.html?_r=0
- Melania Trump Copied Part of Her Speech From Michelle Obama. (2016, July 19). Retrieved July 19, 2016, from https://www.buzzfeed.com/mbvd/melania-trumps-speech-appears-to-have-plagiarized-from-miche?utm_term=.ayLk3w1Rk#.ixeVog6WV
- US election: Melania Trump ‘plagiarised’ Michelle Obama. (2016, July 19). Retrieved July 19, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36832095
- Exclusive: The Trumps speak with Matt Lauer. (2016, July 18). Retrieved July 19, 2016, from http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/exclusive-the-trumps-speak-with-matt-lauer-727480899958