Meredith McIver: Donald Trump Rejects Resignation Of Staffer Who Plagiarized Michelle Obama’s Speech

The controversy over allegations that Melania Trump plagiarized two paragraphs from a speech that Michelle Obama made during the 2008 Democratic National Convention has become a soap opera that has just taken a new twist. Meredith McIver, a consultant hitherto unknown to the Trump organization, took the blame and said she was responsible for the debacle. According to the New York Times, the Trump campaign said Wednesday that it was an innocent mistake and McIver offered her resignation over the incident, but Donald Trump rejected it.

After speaking Monday at the Republican Party convention in Cleveland, a few viewers noticed some parts of Melania Trump’s speech were almost identical to the speech made eight years ago by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, at the Democratic convention. The Wall Street Journal wrote that the striking similarities between parts of Mrs. Trump’s speech and Mrs. Obama’s 2008 speech eclipsed the convention’s opening days and complicated the Republican Party’s effort to reintroduce Mr. Trump to the nation.

In a telling statement, Meredith McIver assumes all fault of the scandalous plagiarism and claims she submitted her resignation to the Trump campaign. Given the controversy on Monday after the first day of the Republican convention when the media accused the tycoon’s wife of plagiarizing a speech by the First Lady, McIver published an open letter in which she explains and apologizes for the situation.

“This was my mistake and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant,” McIver said in a statement released by the Trump Organization. “Mr. Trump told me people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from experiences.”

McIver, who describes herself as “a longtime admirer of the Trump family,” claims that Michelle Obama is a person who Melania “appreciates.” For that reason, she decided to rephrase the first lady without consulting her or the wife of the Republican candidate.

“In working with Melania on her recent first lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people,” McIver wrote. “A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, Ms. Trump read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches.”

The official statement from McIver can be read in the below tweet.

NEW: Melania staffer falls on sword, says campaign rejected her resignation pic.twitter.com/6ZgfX2cEXQ

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) July 20, 2016

Meanwhile, Melania said in an interview that the speech was written for her. After 24 hours of confusion and an official denial of the plagiarism accusations from the Trump campaign, it was learned that all Trump family members have a “ghostwriter” that is responsible for writing the speeches given during the campaign at any public event.

A reporter for the New York Times reported that for the creation of their speeches, Trump’s children are assisted by Matthew Scully and John McConnell. Scully and McConnell have previously helped craft some of the most consequential political speeches in the modern era, including those delivered by former President George W. Bush in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, ABC News wrote. McIver is the writer who assists Melania and she is also co-author of four books written by Trump, including one entitled, Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life.

[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]