Is the Trump campaign stupid, lazy, or simply arrogant?
By Tom Quiner
I watched Mrs. Trump’s speech last night.
Very nice. A glamor girl was humanized. I believe but a small percentage of voters are swayed by a prospective First Lady, with the exception of Hillary Clinton (who certainly repelled many).
But in all, last night’s prime time speech by Melania Trump was a net gain … until this morning. It was all undone by the revelation that she plagiarized a portion of Michelle Obama’s speech at 2008’s Democratic National Convention.
How could Team Trump let something like this happen? Are they too lazy to come up with their own rhetoric? (In light of Mr. Trump’s stump ‘speeches’, the answer may be yes).
Are they stupid? Don’t they know in this day and age that every bit of campaign minutiae is mined and dissected? It was a lock that this would come to light.
Or are they simply arrogant? Mr. Trump has boasted he could shoot a man dead in broad daylight without his popularity taking a hit. He thinks he can get away with anything.
What is especially ironic is what Mrs. Obama and Trump claimed as their family values:
√ That “you work hard for what you want in life.” [Mr. Trump was born with a silver spoon in his mouth; Barack Obama has ridden the tail winds of affirmative action, stepping over those who worked harder and were more qualified, in the process.]
√ That “you do what you say you’re going to do.” [Space doesn’t allow examples of Messrs. Obama and Trump reneging on their promises.]
√ That “you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them; even if you don’t agree with them.” If ever two public figures violated this ‘value,’ it is Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
√ That children need to know that “the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them.” [Unless, of course, you’ve been aborted, a ‘right’ Obama firmly supports. At least Trump has switched his position on human abortion and calls for regulation and curtailment.]
So the rhetoric itself breeds even more cynicism in this cynical age, since neither Barack Obama, Donald Trump, or even a Hillary Clinton actually share any of these values.
The cynicism is compounded by Team Trump’s gaffe in parroting Michelle Obama’s rhetoric from 2008.
Once again, the Trump campaign provided the ammunition for the mainstream media to change the narrative from something positive to something negative.
I’m a Republican, and sometimes I wonder who in the world is running, or should I say, ruining the party. I just want to lash out at them. I think they are following a script, written by the Democrats. WAKE UP!
Chris Christie tried to downplay this act of plagiarizing by claiming that “93% of the speech was her own.” Suppose a thief breaks into your home. How would you feel if the cop tried to dismiss the theft by stating that, “well, he left 93% of your stuff alone.” Thanks for writing.
They could not be that careless. What is a potential first lady supposed to mention in her speech? Bet they’ve all been at least similar for the last umpteen years.
I’m bothered that they lifted paragraphs word for word.
One thing is for certain, unknown speech writers and editors have felt the full wrath of Donald Trump for embarrassing his wife. I hope they don’t expect references.
I’ll be interested in seeing if anyone’s head rolls.
They are already gone and have signed confidiality contracts before they were hired. May never know their names. And their bosses have certainly been to the Trump woodshed.
The sad part is this major screw-up gives the Left media more opportunities to point at the splinters in the Trump eyes while ignoring the planks in Clinton’s — both of them. Aggravating error!
Sadly, true.
Mystery solved: Writer apologizes and offers resignation; Trump graciously keeps her on; honest mistake; live and learn. Nothing to see here.
Agreed.
Just viewed some videos of Obama, his wife, Biden, Hillary, and Edwards, plagiarizing their speeches from other notable speakers. Of course the media won’t air these videos.
Good point.