CLEVELAND — A longtime employee of the Trump Organization took responsibility for lifting two passages, from a 2008 speech by Michelle Obama for Melania Trump’s Monday address at the Republican National Convention, saying that it was an innocent mistake.
CLEVELAND — A longtime employee of the Trump Organization took responsibility for lifting two passages, from a 2008 speech by Michelle Obama for Melania Trump’s Monday address at the Republican National Convention, saying that it was an innocent mistake.
The employee, Meredith McIver, who has worked on some of Donald Trump’s books, appears to be one of the few people to apologize for an error at any point during the Trump campaign. The New York Times on Tuesday night identified McIver as playing a role in the speech, although the extent of her involvement was unclear, and the Trump campaign declined to answer questions. McIver was brought in after Melania Trump discarded the majority of a draft written by two professional speechwriters.
McIver identified herself in an unusual statement posted on the Trump campaign’s website, hours after the chief strategist, Paul Manafort, said the issue was manufactured by the news media. And it breathed new life into a story now in its third day.
“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,” she added. “Over the phone,” Melania 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. This was my mistake and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps as well as to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant.”
She said that she had “offered my resignation to Mr. Trump and the Trump family but they rejected it,” and that “Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and we learn and grow from these experiences.”
She continued: “I asked to put out the statement because I did not like seeing the way this was distracting from Mr. Trump’s historic campaign for president and Melania’s beautiful message and presentation. I apologize for the confusion and hysteria my mistake has caused. Today, more than ever, I am honored to work for such a great family.”