Aspiring first lady Melania Trump found herself caught in an embarrassing plagiarism controversy Tuesday after a prime-time defense of her husband that appeared to be lifted in part from a speech given by Michelle Obama.
No sooner had the poised 46-year-old former model delivered her keynote address to cheering delegates at the Republican National Convention than the unmistakeable similarities to a passage from Obama's speech to the 2008 Democratic convention came to light.
In both passages, the women are introducing themselves to the American public by speaking of the values that have shaped their lives.
Watch the speeches below and decide for yourself:
"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," Melania, the wife of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, told the convention in Cleveland.
"They taught me to show the values and morals in my daily life. That is the lesson that I continue to pass along to our son."
"And we need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow, because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."
That small section of Melania Trump's roughly 15-minute speech, a highlight of the opening day of the convention, was similar to part of Michelle Obama's speech in 2008 in support of her husband Barack Obama.
Here is just one comparison between Melania Trump's speech that was strikingly similar to Michelle Obama's:
"And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard 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," Michelle Obama said in her speech.
"...And Barack Obama and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generations," she added.
A spokesman for the Trump campaign called the speech a success, but suggested her writers may have mistakenly injected some borrowed language.
"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," Jason Miller, Trump's senior communications advisor, said in a statement