Melania Trump's RNC speech bore striking word-for-word similarities to the one Michelle Obama gave in 2008 but her husband's campaign denies plagiarism.
If you thought Melania Trump's Republican National Convention speech sounded a little familiar, you're not alone.
The potential next first lady has been accused of lifting the celebrated speech Michelle Obama gave to the Democratic convention in 2008.
Read: Ahead of RNC Speech, Melania Trump is the Talk of the Convention
Though the speeches line up nearly word-for-word in places, Trump campaign officials have flat out denied the address was plagiarized in any way.
"All right stop
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 19, 2016
Collaborate and listen
Ice is back with my brand new invention..." #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
"There's no cribbing of Michelle Obama's speech," Trump's campaign manager, Paul Manafort, told CNN as the controversy built on Tuesday morning. "Certainly, there's no feeling on her part that she did it... What she did was use words that are common words."
But are those words so common that they found themselves aligned in nearly identical ways to the first lady's? Judge for yourself:
On Monday, the Slovenian former model told the crowd in Cleveland near the start of her speech:
"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. They taught and showed me values and morals in their daily life."
Eight years earlier, Michelle Obama told the convention in Denver:
"And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: like, you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, that you do what you say you're going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them and even if you don't agree with them."
"Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night
— Gabe Ortíz (@TUSK81) July 19, 2016
And wouldn't you love to love her?"#FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
Trump surrogate Chris Christie denied Melania's speech was unoriginal, at least most of it.
Read: Trump Officially Introduces Mike Pence as His Running Mate, Insists He Was His 'First Choice'
"93 percent of the speech is completely different" from Michelle Obama's, Christie told the Today show. Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Trump merely "expressed some common thoughts," the New Jersey governor said.
Whether cribbed or not, Melania Trump's speech immediately became the butt of countless jokes on the internet as the farcical hashtag #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes began trending across social media.
"I did not have sexual relations... with that woman." -Melania Trump #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes#MelaniaSpeeches
— Ashley Gray (@SmashleyGray) July 19, 2016
Grey's Anatomy actor Jesse Williams gleefully skewered Mrs. Trump on his Twitter feed, in part by pairing the hashtag with a Vanilla Ice lyric.
"All right stop Collaborate and listen Ice is back with my brand new invention... #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes" he tweeted.
Gabe Ortiz also used a song lyric poke fun at Mrs. Trump. "Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night And wouldn't you love to love her?" #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes" the progressive activist tweeted.
Other jokesters borrowed from politics to ridicule Mrs. Trump, like Twitter user Ashley Gray.
"It takes a village"
— DemWhore Kor (@KoriWasinger) July 19, 2016
My mom on #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
"I did not have sexual relations... with that woman." #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes"
And at least one user took a line directly from Trump foe Hillary Clinton herself.
