Of course, this has led to much amusement on Twitter, with #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes like these:
"I have a dream" #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 19, 2016
"In West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground is where I spent most of my days." #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes— Manny Herrera (@ManFred1701) July 19, 2016
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes— Broderick Greer (@BroderickGreer) July 19, 2016
And our favorite:
— (((Fire Woman))) (@mamaofautistic) July 19, 2016
More mockery here.
On a serious note, Brian Beutler talks about the implications of this disastrous performance:
Whether Melania knew she was reading plagiarized text or not (and I think it’s quite likely she did not) it’s just devastating to see a campaign premised on the imagined notion of Obama incompetence get caught stealing from Obama’s own operation.
But the power of the images is actually much deeper. They don’t just negate something central to Trump’s appeal. They amplify one (actually more than one) of the main knocks on Trump himself: That he’s sloppy, erratic, in so many ways the opposite of the virtues he claims to embody. And, let’s not gloss over it, this is a depiction of a campaign—a campaign that nurtures white grievance and resentment—trying to profit off the work of a black woman, from an African American family that Trump and his supporters regularly belittle. The fact that the plagiarized text in question was about the value of hard work just makes matters worse. A mortifying, calamitous, self-immolating moment.BONUS: David Nir agrees. Sad!
BONUS II: There are reports that Ms. Trump has also misrepresented her educational background, claiming that she received a degree from the University of Slovenia when she didn't. Crooked Melania!
