Melania Trump faced backlash Tuesday morning amid accusations that her Monday night speech at the Republican National Convention borrowed heavily from the speech First Lady Michelle Obama gave eight years ago.
Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, defended Melania Trump on Tuesday, saying her speech consisted of “common words and values.”
“There’s no cribbing of Michelle Obama’s speech. These were common words and values — that she cares about her family, things like that,” Manafort said in an interview with CNN. “I mean, she was speaking in front of 35 million people last night. She knew that. To think that she would be cribbing Michelle Obama’s words is crazy.”
He blamed the widely critical reaction to the speech on presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“This is once again an example of when a woman threatens Hillary Clinton, how she seeks out to demean her and take her down,” he said. “It’s not going to work.”
Others criticized Melania Trump on social media, with many using the hashtag #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes to mockingly attribute the famous words of others to the prospective First Lady.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Trump’s Message Worked on Latino Men
- What Trump’s Win Could Mean for Housing
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Sleep Doctors Share the 1 Tip That’s Changed Their Lives
- Column: Let’s Bring Back Romance
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Write to Katie Reilly at Katie.Reilly@time.com