Normally, U.S. Republicans will do anything they can to position themselves as far away as possible from President Barack Obama, his colleagues, and his family. But potential First Lady Melania Trump seems to have taken a different tactic last night.
Mrs. Trump claimed in an interview before the convention that she received very little help on her Republican National Convention keynote speech, but her Monday-night speech seems to take some inspiration from a speech by First Lady Michelle Obama. And by "take some inspiration" we mean "lift an entire paragraph almost verbatim" from Obama's speech.
Mrs. Obama's speech comes from the 2008 Democratic National Convention when, like Mrs. Trump now, she was campaigning for her husband's presidency.
Twitter has had a field day, with the topic #famousmelaniatrumpquotes trending heavily. Under this hashtag, Melania Trump is attributed with beloved lines from Moby Dick, Dickens novels, TLC songs, Taylor Swift Instagram posts, and beyond.
Some celebrities, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jesse Williams, and Keith Olbermann, have already jumped in on the fun. Williams in particular seems to be having the time of his life, tweeting out a large swath of quotations.
For their part, the Trump campaign has released a vague statement calling Mrs. Trump's speech "a success". The statement mentions that Melania used a "team of writers" - not exactly the "little help" she claimed to have received - and seems to deny any connection between her speech and the First Lady's.
What a time to be alive!

VIDEO: Melania Trump told NBC's Matt Lauer before the speech: "I wrote it...with a little help as possible." https://t.co/MZraa04Goj

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 19, 2016

literally word for word #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes pic.twitter.com/vsQhLSRZcV

— Dub Vercetti (@dubvercetti) July 19, 2016

Statement on Melania Trump Speech pic.twitter.com/80KgS0jxXz

— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) July 19, 2016

"Of course, you don't have to take MY word for it..." #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes pic.twitter.com/JDlIWK3BPp

— Joseph Gordon-Levitt (@hitRECordJoe) July 19, 2016

"All right stop
Collaborate and listen
Ice is back with my brand new invention..." #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes

— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 19, 2016

#CrookedMelania
RT @jennifersterger "Let's get ready to rumble"... #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes pic.twitter.com/eLNAzOeRKa

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) July 19, 2016